Use of stem cells in adults receiving related donor kidney transplants improves outcomes

Among patients with end-stage renal disease undergoing living-related kidney transplants, using bone-marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (cells that can differentiate into a variety of cell types) instead of antibody induction therapy resulted in a lower rates of acute rejection, decreased risk of infection and better kidney function one year later, according to a study in the March 21 issue of JAMA. Jianming Tan of Xiamen University, Fuzhou, China and colleagues examined the effect of autologous (derived from the same individual) MSC infusion as an alternative to anti-IL-2 receptor antibody therapy. "In our prospective randomized trial on a large patient population, autologous MSCs could replace anti-IL-2 receptor-induction therapy in living-related donor kidney transplants," the researchers write.