Fetal cells for coloproctology
Cell therapy avoids complete amputation of the intestine
Natalia Reznik, STRF.ruFamilial adenomatosis of the colon (SATC) is a hereditary disease in which many polyps form on the mucous membrane of the colon.
If you do not fight the disease, it inevitably turns into cancer, and the only method of treatment is surgical. The colon has to be completely removed, and a person becomes disabled after such an operation. Specialists of the Federal State Medical Center and the V. I. Kulakov National Center of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of Russia have developed a method of cell therapy that allows the patient to preserve the final part of the colon – the rectum – and lead a relatively active lifestyle.
The colon is the lower part of the intestine that extends from the end of the small intestine to the anus. Usually, with SATC, the colon is completely removed, along with its last section – the rectum, and the end of the small intestine is removed to the anterior abdominal wall, and this hole begins to play the role of the anal. To make the operation more physiological, and the patient's life acceptable, the rectum must be preserved. There are even techniques that allow you to do this. However, some time after such an operation, the growth of polyps begins on the mucous membrane of the rectum, where they did not exist before, and then cancer develops. Specialists of the Federal State University of Coloproctology and the V. I. Kulakov National Center of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology have developed a method to preserve the rectum and protect it from the formation of polyps. Its essence is to leave only the muscle wall from the rectum, on which polyps do not form, and replace the mucous membrane using cells from a healthy donor.
Cells for transplantation were obtained from the liver and bone marrow of 8-12-week-old aborted embryos. Before use, they were carefully checked for infections. Then the cells were grown for 1-2 weeks on a nutrient medium and injected into the muscular layer of the rectum, previously deprived of the mucous membrane. 4-6 weeks after the operation, the donor cells formed a full-fledged mucous membrane in the rectum, and the preservation of the muscle case allowed it to function. The restored intestine was connected to the rest of the digestive system.
Doctors operated on 9 people in this way; for 1-3 years since the operation, polyps in the rectum have not developed in any patient.
The authors of the method emphasize that, although many aspects of this problem require further study, the results obtained are encouraging.
Source of information:
G. I. Vorobyev et al., "Cell transplantation in the surgical treatment of familial colon adenomatosis". Cell Technologies in Biology and Medicine, 2010, No. 4.
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27.01.2011