NUI Galway centre to create stem cells for treatment of diabetes and arthritis

Researchers in Ireland will soon be using locally produced stem cells in treatments for patients with diabetes or arthritis.

The new Centre for Cell Manufacturing Ireland at NUI Galway will be able to deliver stem cells of the highest purity and safety to help transform the way we treat certain diseases.

It is a considerable achievement for Galway to have won authorisation to operate a stem cell-producing centre on campus; it had to convince the Irish Medicines Board that it could do so and produce cells that are safe for use in humans.

It now joins about a half a dozen more such labs across Europe where this work can be done. Universities typically do not attempt to aspire to these standards given the cost and effort of reaching and then maintaining them over time.

The board assessed Galway on the basis of international standards applied by the pharmaceutical and biologic industries, and this should open the way to research projects involving international partners.

EU-funded projects should be able to proceed despite the lack of legislation controlling the production of stem cells here. Such legislation would have been essential had the same lab attempted to make use of stem cells taken from human embryos, a controversial approach for many given it results in the destruction of the embryos in the process.

Clinical trials
Some commentators also argue, however, that the lack of legislation discourages investments here by multinationals involved in this area, particularly in clinical trials. The Programme for Government promises legislation on stem cells, but has yet to deliver it.

Stem cells hold much promise in medicine because, depending on their source, they can transform into a wide range of cell types. Cells taken from embryos are “pluripotent”, able to change readily into the widest range of cell types. The centre will produce stem cells taken only from adult tissues, which can turn into a much more restricted range of cells.

Adult stem cells can be recovered from a wide range of tissues, such as bone marrow. The Galway team has much experience working with a particular type, called mesenchymal stem cells. These are being tested for their ability to reverse the severely restricted blood flow in the lower limbs seen in diabetics, thus reducing the risk of amputation. They are also being used as a way to reverse the tissue damage seen in the joints of people with arthritis.

While stem cells can be donated, the NUI Galway team want to take stem cells from an individual, grow them up into higher numbers and then give them back to the same individual. This “autologus” donation ensures that there can be no tissue rejection.

This means treatments can be tailored to the individual and do not require the use of drugs to fight tissue rejection.