Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Stem cell treatment with short immunosuppression helps muscular
By Lorant, Judith et al.·Published in Cell transplantation·2018·1 PAnTher, France·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Vascular Delivery of Allogeneic MuStem Cells in Dystrophic Dogs Requires Only Short-Term Immunosuppression to Avoid Host Immunity and Generate Clinical/Tissue Benefits.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 4-5 month old Golden Retriever muscular dystrophy (GRMD) puppies received stem cell infusions to help with their muscle condition. Some puppies were given the stem cells with short-term immunosuppression (medication to prevent their immune system from rejecting the cells), while others received the treatment without it. The puppies that had the short-term immunosuppression showed lasting improvements in their muscle health and overall condition, while those without it did not benefit. This suggests that a brief period of immunosuppression is enough to make the stem cell treatment effective without long-term risks.
People also search for: Golden Retriever muscular dystrophy treatment · stem cell therapy for dogs · puppy muscle disease treatment
Abstract
Growing demonstrations of regenerative potential for some stem cells led recently to promising therapeutic proposals for neuromuscular diseases. We have shown that allogeneic MuStem cell transplantation into Golden Retriever muscular dystrophy (GRMD) dogs under continuous immunosuppression (IS) leads to persistent clinical stabilization and muscle repair. However, long-term IS in medical practice is associated with adverse effects raising safety concerns. Here, we investigate whether the IS removal or its restriction to the transplantation period could be considered. Dogs aged 4-5 months old received vascular infusions of allogeneic MuStem cells without IS (GRMD) or under transient IS (GRMD). At 5 months post-infusion, persisting clinical status improvement of the GRMDdogs was observed while GRMDdogs exhibited no benefit. Histologically, only 9-month-old GRMDdogs showed an increased muscle regenerative activity. A mixed cell reaction with the host peripheral blood mononucleated cells (PBMCs) and corresponding donor cells revealed undetectable to weak lymphocyte proliferation in GRMDdogs compared with a significant proliferation in GRMDdogs. Importantly, any dog group showed neither cellular nor humoral anti-dystrophin responses. Our results show that transient IS is necessary and sufficient to sustain allogeneic MuStem cell transplantation benefits and prevent host immunity. These findings provide useful critical insight to designing therapeutic strategies.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29871519/