Umbilical cord stem cells may be useful in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to research published this month in the journal Arthritis Research and Therapy. The researchers demonstrated that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) taken from umbilical cord blood can suppress inflammation and significantly reduce the severity of collagen-induced arthritis. For this study, the researchers infused cord blood MSCs into mouse models of collagen-induced arthritis. The MSCs were able to suppress the immune cells’ proliferation, invasive behavior and inflammatory responses.

As reported in past blog posts, MSCs are being studied in a variety of different disease areas, given their many therapeutic capabilities. For treating RA, researchers are interested in MSCs’ ability to suppress the immune system. This is beneficial because in autoimmune diseases like RA, the immune system confuses healthy tissue for foreign substances, and as a result, the body attacks itself.

Today, the most common source of MSCs is bone marrow. But the differentiating potential of bone marrow MSCs decreases with age. Plus, obtaining bone marrow requires an invasive procedure – whereas the collection of cord blood is simple, safe and painless.
 
According to one researcher from the study, "RA imparts a massive burden on health services worldwide and none of the currently used agents reaches long term drug-free remission. Therefore, a new and more effective therapy for RA will be very welcome".

See these links for past posts on MSC studies in bone repair, cornea repair, and heart repair.  

Source: Liu, et al. Therapeutic potential of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Research and Therapy. 2010.