Stem Cells Play 3 Major Functions To Repair Chronic Kidney Disease

As one of the important organs of the human body, the kidney is like the "water purifier" of the body. It needs to filter and clean nearly 200 liters of blood every day so that the metabolic waste is discharged from the body, and at the same time, it regulates the electrolyte and acid-base balance in the body to maintain the internal The environment is stable. If the kidneys start to strike, the kidney function will be abnormal, and the metabolic wastes in the human body cannot be discharged and accumulated in large quantities, which will cause damage to various organs, cause dizziness, irritability, loss of appetite, heart rhythm disorders and other symptoms, cause kidney disease, and eventually may lead to uremia.

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Current status of chronic kidney disease in China

In 2017, there were 697.5 million chronic kidney disease patients in the world, of which China had the largest number of chronic kidney disease patients in the world with 132.3 million patients. The prevalence in women (9.5%) was 1.3 times that in men (7.3%). The rate of dialysis and kidney transplantation in male patients (13.7/100,000) was 1.6 times that of females (8.6/100,000). The mortality rate of male patients (18.9/100,000) was 1.4 times that of females (13.6/100,000). Once proteinuria occurs, renal function will decline irreversibly. When chronic kidney disease persists, it will eventually develop into renal failure.

Chronic kidney failure

As almost completely irreversible damage, chronic renal failure refers to chronic and progressive renal parenchymal damage caused by complex pathogenesis and mechanisms, resulting in significant renal atrophy and difficulty in maintaining its basic functions. Electrolyte and acid-base imbalance, and systemic system involvement are the main clinical syndrome. The annual incidence of chronic renal failure is about 0.3‰, the prevalence is about 1‰, and there is a trend of the increasing year by year. Although progress has been made in repairing chronic kidney injury with drugs, maintenance dialysis, and kidney transplantation, it is an important health issue. The above measures cannot prevent damage to kidney tissue. The kidney's ability to regenerate is limited, and it is important to prevent the progression of fibrosis. It is inefficient and prone to irreversible kidney damage.

The potential of stem cell therapy is mediated by various mechanisms, such as differentiation into various renal parenchymal cells; regulation of activation of immune cells; secretion of cytokines such as various signaling factors, trophic factors, and anti-inflammatory factors; anti-nephrocyte apoptosis, anti-fibrosis It can play a role in renal tissue repair by regulating and anti-stress oxidative response. Stem cell therapy has also achieved certain results in clinical research. For example, the combination of interventional techniques and stem cell therapy. At present, stem cell transplantation mainly includes venous, arterial, and local transplantation. Effective and safe transplantation is of great significance for chronic kidney injury.

Stem cells play 3 major functions to repair chronic kidney disease

1. Multidirectional differentiation

MSCs can home to the kidney and differentiate into renal parenchymal cells such as glomerular cells, mesangial cells, and renal tubular epithelial cells, so that the injured kidney can quickly restore its physiological function, thereby protecting the kidney.

2. Immunomodulation

The study found that MSCs can significantly reduce the expression of anti-double-stranded DNA antibody (ds-DNA) and proteinuria in mice in vivo, down-regulate the expression of TGF-β, vascular endothelial factor and complement C3 in kidney tissue, proteinuria, serum creatinine, and proteinuria. Anti-ds-DNA drops.

3. Nutritional support

Stem cells can secrete various cytokines (such as growth factors, vascular epidermal growth factors, etc.) through paracrine action, promote the formation of vascular endothelial cells, regulate the local microenvironment, and provide nutritional support for the repair and regeneration of kidney tissue.

Advantages of stem cell therapy for kidney disease

1. It has the proliferative ability and multi-directional differentiation potential and can proliferate and differentiate and produce a large number of offspring.

2. It has convenient sources, easy to separate, cultivate, expand and purify, and still has the characteristics of stem cells after multiple passages and expansions.

3. Low immunogenicity, because the cells are in the original state and are not easy to be identified, there is no characteristic of immune rejection, and there is no matching problem.

4. It has homing (targeting-targeting), and the damage signal can stimulate the migration and differentiation of stem cells to damaged organs and tissues and can home to damaged lesions and repair damaged cells.

Post-Stem Cell Transplant Care

Some scholars have pointed out that after stem cell transplantation, patients should pay attention to the nursing work. Patients can rest in bed for 1-2 hours and avoid taking immunosuppressive drugs in the near future. In terms of life, patients are advised to eat lightly, avoid alcohol and seafood (proteins) Foods that cause allergic reactions, and maintain a good habit of going to bed early and getting up early. In recent years, basic research on stem cells for the treatment of nephropathy has found that stem cells can differentiate into renal innate cells, renal parenchymal cells, etc., so stem cells have a good repair and reconstruction effect on renal function after transplantation.

For patients with severe disease and frequent recurrence, stem cell transplantation is undoubtedly a new and effective treatment method, which can not only control disease activity but also achieve a curative effect, bringing great relief and improvement to the patient's disease.

for more information:Ali.ma@wecistanche.com