Open AccessPotential for a pluripotent adult stem cell treatment for acute radiation sickness
Author(s) -
Denis O. Rodgerson
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
world journal of experimental medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2220-315X
DOI - 10.5493/wjem.v2.i3.37
Subject(s) - stem cell , bone marrow , radiation sickness , medicine , haematopoiesis , bone marrow stem cell , induced pluripotent stem cell , embryonic stem cell , radiation therapy , hematopoietic stem cell transplantation , cancer research , immunology , transplantation , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , biochemistry , gene
Accidental radiation exposure and the threat of deliberate radiation exposure have been in the news and are a public health concern. Experience with acute radiation sickness has been gathered from atomic blast survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and from civilian nuclear accidents as well as experience gained during the development of radiation therapy for cancer. This paper reviews the medical treatment reports relevant to acute radiation sickness among the survivors of atomic weapons at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, among the victims of Chernobyl, and the two cases described so far from the Fukushima Dai-Ichi disaster. The data supporting the use of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and the new efforts to expand stem cell populations ex vivo for infusion to treat bone marrow failure are reviewed. Hematopoietic stem cells derived from bone marrow or blood have a broad ability to repair and replace radiation induced damaged blood and immune cell production and may promote blood vessel formation and tissue repair. Additionally, a constituent of bone marrow-derived, adult pluripotent stem cells, very small embryonic like stem cells, are highly resistant to ionizing radiation and appear capable of regenerating radiation damaged tissue including skin, gut and lung.