Published on October 19, 2009 at 6:05 AM Several cell-based
therapy approaches could provide new treatments for patients
with Alport syndrome, reports an upcoming paper in the Journal
of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN). "Our study opens
up many considerations of how new therapies related to the use
of stem cells can be devised for our kidney patients with
chronic disease," comments Raghu Kalluri, MD, PhD (Harvard
Medical School, Boston, MA). Led by Valerie LeBleu, PhD (also of
Harvard Medical School), the researchers tested various types of
cell-based therapy in mice with a gene defect similar to that
causing Alport syndrome, a genetic kidney disease. Most often
occurring in boys, Alport syndrome causes progressive kidney
disease leading to kidney failure at a young age. Patients may
develop hearing loss and eye disease as well. Although treatment
can slow the progression of kidney disease, there is currently
no cure for Alport syndrome. The experiments provide evidence
that stem cell treatments cou