CELL THERAPY IN KIDNEY DISEASE : CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM ... BUT OPTIMISM NONETHELESS

• Published in: Peritoneal dialysis international Vol. 27; no. 2_suppl; pp. S94 - 103
• Main Authors: ZENOVICH, Andrey G, TAYLOR, Doris A
• Format: Conference Proceeding Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Milton, ON Multimed 01.06.2007
• Subjects: Anesthesia. Intensive care medicine. Transfusions. Cell therapy and gene therapy; Biological and medical sciences; Cardiovascular Diseases - etiology; Cardiovascular Diseases - therapy; Clinical Trials as Topic; Disease Progression; Emergency and intensive care: renal failure. Dialysis management; Epithelial Cells - physiology; Humans; Inflammation; Intensive care medicine; Kidney - cytology; Kidney Transplantation; Kidneys; Medical sciences; Nephrology. Urinary tract diseases; Peritoneal Dialysis; Quality of Life; Renal Insufficiency - complications; Renal Insufficiency - therapy; Stem Cell Transplantation - methods; Stem Cells - physiology; Surgery (general aspects). Transplantations, organ and tissue grafts. Graft diseases; Surgery of the urinary system; Tumors of the urinary system; Kidney disease; Extrarenal dialysis; End-stage renal disease; stem cells; Urinary system disease; Treatment; Stem cell; Renal failure; Terminal stage; Peritoneal dialysis
• ISSN: 0896-8608; 1718-4304
• DOI: 10.1177/089686080702702s17

The recently discovered therapeutic potential of stem or progenitor cells has initiated development of novel treatments in a number of diseases-treatments that could not only improve patients' quality of life, but also halt or even prevent disease progression. Hypertension; fluctuations in glycemia, electrolytes, nutrient levels, and circulating volume; and frequent infections and the associated inflammation all greatly impair the endothelium in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis. As our understanding of the regulatory function of the endothelium advances, focus is increasingly being placed on endothelial repair in acute and chronic renal failure and after renal transplantation. The potential of progenitor cells to repair damaged endothelium and to reduce inflammation in patients with renal failure remains unexamined; however, a successful cell therapy could reduce morbidity and mortality in kidney disease. Important contributions have been made in identifying progenitor cell populations in the kidney, and further investigations into the relationships of these cells with the pathophysiology of the disease are underway. As the kidney disease field prepares for the first human trials of progenitor cell therapies, we deemed it important to review representative original research, and to share our perspectives and lessons learned from clinical trials of progenitor cell-based therapies that have commenced in patients with cardiovascular disease.