According to Maarten Rookmaaker in his doctoral thesis, stem cells can help kidneys recover following an inflammation.
He discovered that CD34+ cells can develop into new blood vessels in damaged kidneys, and that these cells also manufacture growth factors that stimulate the formation of blood vessels. Rookmaaker did most of his research on rats, but in a bone marrow transplant patient he showed that human bone marrow stem cells contribute to blood vessel formation in the kidneys. He believes that stem cell therapy based on CD34+ cells can be beneficial for cardiovascular disease as well as kidney damage.
Maarten Rookmaaker: "The role of endothelial progenitor cells in vascular and renal regeneration"
07 November 2006 02:30 PM, Academiegebouw, Domplein 29, Utrecht