Stem cells, already known to help repair damaged muscle in mice, also can be turned into blood cells -- a discovery that researchers at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh say eventually could help boost human blood supplies for life-saving transfusions.
The finding by Dr. Johnny Huard and his colleagues is part of Children's Hospital's ongoing research into muscle-derived stem cells.
Huard is working with a $1.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to find better treatments for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The genetic disease assaults muscle fibers and strikes about one in 4,000 children each year.
Based on his research, Huard said patients who need blood transfusions eventually could undergo a muscle biopsy to isolate stem cells that could be used to produce blood. He said isolating such stem cells could be a significant step toward helping individuals who need transfusions of a blood type that is difficult to match.
The new findings are being published in the July issue of the Journal of Cell Biology.
Although Huard emphasized that his research has dealt solely with mice, he said there is evidence that humans have similar muscle stem cells that could be equally promising.
"A major hurdle is: 'Can we extract the stem cells from a human biopsy?' and 'Can we do the same thing in humans?' Huard, director of the Oakland hospital's musculoskeletal growth and development laboratory, said Wednesday. "We think there is incredible potential for that."
Huard said his finding also could benefit transplant recipients who experience organ rejection. His team has found that stem cells also can turn into blood cells that make up the immune system, which, in a sense, would boost immunity and reduce the potential for rejection.
