David A. Steenblock, D.O.

Inc
Personalized Regenerative Medicine

Adult Stem Cells Treat Pulmonary Fibrosis

American Journal of Pathology, June 4, 2009

In acute respiratory distress syndrome, inflammation and fibrosis result in loss of lung
tissue which, according to a recent study, may be treated by mesenchymal stem cells.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are known to produce a number of growth factors and
have been shown to inhibit fibrosis in liver failure as demonstrated by Parekkaden et al.
in 2007, and to differentiate into pulmonary cells as reported by Sueblinvong et al. in
2007. Additionally, bone marrow mononuclear cells, which contain both hematopoietic
stem cells and MSCs, have been used to treat pulmonary hypertension in an animal
model. Now, scientists have tested the therapeutic capacity of MSCs derived from
Wharton's Jelly in an animal model of lung fibrosis.

Led by Dr. Yuben Moodley, scientists in Australia have reported the results of their study
in a paper entitled "Human Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cells Reduce Fibrosis of
Bleomycin-Induced Lung Injury". The scientists obtained Wharton's jelly from human
umbilical cords derived from full-term, live, healthy births, from which the mesenchymal
stem cells (MSCs) were then separated and administered to a mouse model of bleomycin-
induced lung injury. Lung tissue was evaluated at one, two and four weeks post-
bleomycin, from which the researchers observed that the MSCs were found to have
migrated only to those areas of inflammation and fibrosis but not to healthy tissue.

As the scientists describe in their paper, the administration of the MSCs reduced
inflammation and inhibited the expression of various signaling chemicals which
contribute to inflammation, including a number of proinflammatory cytokines. The
scientists therefore concluded that MSCs "have antifibrotic properties and augment lung
repair if used to treat acute respiratory distress syndrome."

A glycopeptide antibiotic that is produced by the bacterium Streptomyces verticillus,

bleomycin is commonly used in cancer chemotherapy but is well known for a number of
serious side effects which include pulmonary fibrosis and other types of impaired lung
function, due to the role of bleomycin in producing a number of proinflammatory
cytokines and inducing oxygen toxicity.

Wharton's jelly, named after the 17th century anatomist Thomas Wharton, is the
gelatinous, mucosal substance found within the umbilical cord and is a rich source of
hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulfate and adult stem cells, among other substances.

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