Biomedicine in the Far East
FEFU: Biomedical Cell Technologies: an inside Look
Daria Latypova, DV-ROSSThe School of Biomedicine of the Far Eastern Federal University offers unique areas of medical training.
Here, from the first year, they try to attract students to science, and the main mission of the School is to train a research doctor. This year, the recruitment of students for new educational programs for the university will begin, such as "Pharmacy", "Medical Biochemistry" and "Medical Biophysics". The current directions of "General and clinical Immunology" and "Cell Biology, cytology, histology" have been opened in the master's degree, and in the near future "Molecular Pharmacology" (biological sciences), "Human Genetics and genomic Medicine" (biological sciences) and "Nuclear Medicine" (physical sciences) will appear.
Its Director, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor Yuri Khotimchenko and Head of the Department of Fundamental Medicine, Professor Alexander Polevshchikov tell about the development of new scientific directions at the FEFU School of Biomedicine.
– A new direction that we are starting to develop at the School of Biomedicine is biomedical cell technologies, and one of the topics is devoted to the study of the possibilities of using stem cells for the treatment of oncological diseases, – explains Yuri Stepanovich. – It is worth noting that specialists of large Russian institutes and medical centers are also interested in new research. Thus, together with the FEFU School of Biomedicine, the A.V. Zhirmunsky Institute of Marine Biology of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Neurovita Clinic for Restorative and Interventional Neurology and Therapy, the Federal Scientific and Clinical Center for Specialized Types of Medical Care and Medical Technologies of the FMBA of Russia and the V.P. Serbsky State Scientific Center for Social and Forensic Psychiatry participate in the research.
– Please tell us more about the new direction.
– We have just prepared a joint scientific article for a medical journal about the phenomenon of migration of stem cells to the focus of malignant brain damage. This is an experimental work, and glioma cells were taken as a model tumor. The fact is that glioma itself is characterized by high invasiveness (the ability of a malignant tumor to grow into surrounding tissues), often affects vital brain centers, is difficult to access for surgical intervention and has low sensitivity to antitumor drugs. Therefore, the search for new alternative methods of treating malignant neoplasms of the brain is extremely relevant. I will explain a little, since not all of your readers are histologists, that glioma is a malignant tumor that develops from slowly dividing cells that give rise to auxiliary cells of nervous tissue – astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. And this is the most common brain tumor. The use of stem cells in the clinic is one of the most interesting and promising areas of modern biology and medicine, and interest in stem cells is due to the possibility of their use in gene and cell therapy. Let me explain once again that stem cells, unlike cells, are not specialized, have high proliferative activity (reproduction of cells by mitotic division) and can give rise to differentiated (specialized) cell types. Stem cells are present both in embryonic tissues and in the tissues of the adult body. Their main function in the adult body is the usual replacement of spent cells and the restoration of damaged tissues. But more recently it has been shown that in addition to a purely "repair" function, stem cells are able to reprogram atypical cells, for example, in the direction of induction of apoptosis (programmed cell death).
– You know, stem cells have been known for a long time, – Alexander Polevshchikov enters the conversation. – Russian histologist Alexander Alexandrovich Maksimov first told about their enormous potential to self-renew and transform into cells of other tissues back in 1909. By the way, he was the first to propose the term "stem cells" ("Stammzelle"). Thus, our compatriot was ahead of his foreign colleagues by about 80 years. It should be emphasized that we are at the very beginning of the path of using stem cells in the clinic. Their properties have not yet been fully studied, so the use in treatment should be careful, otherwise the number of unpredictable results and side effects will grow.
According to Alexander Vitalievich, the attempt to use stem cells in the treatment of gliomas is extremely important. Malignant tumors, especially of the brain, are also not susceptible to immunotherapy. Therefore, the main way to treat such a tumor is the earliest possible diagnosis and possible application of the phenomenon of stem cell migration to the lesion. But we must remember that there is a high probability that neural stem cells can give rise to malignant cells.
– What did the research show?
– My colleagues and I have obtained important results concerning another type of stem cells, namely hematopoietic stem cells mobilized from the bloodstream, – continues Yuri Stepanovich. – Hematopoietic stem cells are not involved in the oncological process, and they are inert in relation to normal nervous tissue. We were able to show that when animals with experimental glioma are injected with hematopoietic stem cells into the opposite hemisphere of the brain or directly into the bloodstream, they rush to the tumor. We hope that, firstly, they will inhibit the further development of the tumor process, and secondly, if these cells can be activated, then, most likely, they will begin to destroy tumor formations. It is impossible to exclude the possibility of the transformation of stem cells into normal astrocytes, which will also suppress the development of the tumor. But all this still needs to be shown experimentally.
– What will the results lead to?
– We believe that the described property of directed migration of hematopoietic stem cells to the tumor focus can become the basis of innovative technology of antitumor therapy and targeted delivery of drugs to the affected area, – emphasizes the director of the School of Biomedicine. – In some of the microphotographs presented here, you can see how the tumor grows after implantation of glioma cells into one of the hemispheres of the rat brain. Other images using special cell imaging techniques using fluorescent dyes show the migration of hematopoietic stem cells to the location of glioma. In addition to the direction described in this publication – experimental neurooncology – the School of Biomedicine, together with the staff of the Institute of Marine Biology, is working on the development of new cellular technologies for the treatment of spinal cord injuries. Taking this opportunity, I would like to invite graduates of various specialties: physicians, biologists, chemists, physicists, pharmacists who have an interest in biomedicine to study at the master's program of our School, followed by admission to graduate school in various biological or medical specialties.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru03.04.2013