Lymph nodes can be transformed into the liver, thymus and pancreas
Researchers at the McGowan Institute of Regenerative Medicine, part of the University of Pittsburgh, demonstrated on an animal model that, despite the unusual environment, liver cells, thymus tissue (thymus gland, which plays an important role in the immune system, especially in children and adolescents) and insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas can fully function inside the lymph nodes.
According to the head of the work, Associate Professor Eric Lagasse, infectious hepatitis, alcoholic cirrhosis and other diseases can damage the liver so much that the only way out is transplantation. Children with Digiorgi syndrome do not have a functional thymus necessary for the full maturation of immune cells, and diabetes mellitus can be cured only by transplantation of pancreatic cells. However, the shortage of donor organs means that many patients do not have enough time to wait for transplantation.
Currently, specialists are actively developing methods of cell therapy, but the introduction of healthy cells into tissue already affected by the disease greatly reduces the chances of success.
As part of their work, the authors tested the possibility of using lymph nodes, scattered in large numbers throughout the body and having abundant blood supply, as a new "home" for donor cells during the so-called ectopic (in an unusual place for this organ) transplantation.
They injected healthy liver cells from a genetically identical donor into the lymph nodes of mice localized in different parts of the body. As a result, large nodes were formed that perform the functions of the liver. Such nodes saved the life of animals on the verge of death from a deadly metabolic liver disease. Similarly, thymus tissue transplanted into the lymph nodes of mice without this organ ensured the formation of a full-fledged immune system; and pancreatic beta cell transplants restored normal blood glucose levels in animals with diabetes mellitus.
According to the researchers, the purpose of the developed procedure is not to completely replace, for example, the liver, but to ensure the amount of cell mass sufficient to stabilize the functioning of the organ and maintain the patient's life. In some cases, this approach can give the damaged organ the opportunity to fully recover.
Article by Junji Komori et al. The mouse lymph node as an ectopic transplantation site for multiple tissues is published in the journal Nature Biotechnology.
Evgeniya Ryabtseva
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of the University of Pittsburgh:
Liver Cells, Insulin-Producing Cells, Thymus Tissue Can Be Grown in Lymph Nodes, Pitt/McGowan Team Finds.
11.10.2012