Scientists have discovered that premature babies urine can repair damaged kidney cells..



If you’re looking for stem cells, urine luck…
Urine from premature babies could provide a
rich supply of stem cells for medical
treatments or for rebooting worn-out kidneys
for transplantation.


Stem cells are the cellular putty from which
all tissues in our body are made . They can be
hard to come by though. Embryos provide a
great source of stem cells that can change
into a whole manner of tissues, but they
involve the destruction of an embryo.
Over the years, researchers have found other
sources of stem cells at a slightly later stage
of development that can develop into specific
cell types. For example, a type of stem cell
destined to become kidney cells can be
isolated from adult urine .


But babies born early might provide a better
source, says Elena Levtchenko at the
Catholic University of Leuven (KUL), Belgium.
She and her colleagues collected urine
samples from premature babies born at
between 31 and 36 weeks. The team then
searched for cells with specific markers that
flagged them as stem cells.


The team developed these stem cells into a
range of types of kidney cell by changing the
nutrients in which they were bathed. “They
act like kidney cells, and do what kidney
cells are supposed to do,” says Levtchenko.
There were also plenty of stem cells to be
found – many more than the team collected
from adult urine, says Levtchenko. The urine
of premature babies is much more likely to
provide a source of enough stem cells to be
used in any potential therapies, she says.
This could be because a fetus’s kidneys
continue to develop right up to birth , so
premature babies’ kidneys are still
developing.


As good as new


The premature babies’ stem cells seem to be
able to protect other cells from damage.
When the team applied cisplatin – a toxic
cancer drug – to adult kidney cells, all of the
cells died. But when the team added stem
cells to the mix, they found that although
some kidney cells died, others regenerated
and survived.


The team is testing their urine-derived stem
cells on human organs that are too old or
damaged to be used for transplantation. The
aim is to regenerate damaged kidney tissue,
pepping-up worn out organs.
Levtchenko will next test whether the cells
have the same protective effect in living
animals, and eventually people. In theory, the
cells could be used to rescue kidney cells
that are damaged as a result of disease, she
says. If treatments work, it might make sense
to bank stem cells from premature babies’
urine for future use, she says.







Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2079806-urine-from-premature-babies-could-repair-damaged-kidneys/?utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=SOC&utm_campaign=hoot&cmpid=SOC%7CNSNS%7C2016-GLOBAL-hoot