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Researches consider stem cells to be a potential therapeutic option of many non-curable diseases. This

is due to the unique characteristics they have - differentiate to any cell line with appropriate

influences. In the article The Application of Umbilical Cord Blood Cells in the Treatment of iabetes

!ellitus" Tomas #oblas and his collea$ues has discussed the possibility of use of Umbilical Cord

Blood Cells to treat iabetes !ellitus %The Review of iabetic &tudies' (ol.) - *o. + - ),,' ))-

)/+0. The multipotent stem cells that are present in the cord blood are the 1ey players who may

differentiate to insulin producin$ cells and help treatin$ diabetes. The review article brou$ht out the

followin$ facts2

Amon$ few of the available sources of stem cells" Umbilical Cord Blood Cells are preferable for many

reasons2 3. 4ith more than 3,, million births per year" sources of Umbilical cord blood cell is

unparallel. ). It can be preserved in one of the many ban1s providin$ facilities for not only stora$e of

cord blood" but also 56A typin$. /. Umbilical cord blood cell do not have any ethical issue as would

happen to use 7mbryonic stem cells +. These umbilical cord blood cells have lon$er telomere - so

support more mitosis and lon$er duration of proliferation then stem cells of adult person.

urin$ postnatal life" 8-cell mass that has under$one apoptosis is replaced by proliferation of stem

cells. 5owever" precise source of such cells are still un1nown. Althou$h many or$ans li1e spleen"

liver" and bone marrow have the capacity to transform into insulin producin$ cells" the e9act

mechanism is still un1nown. :ne hypothesis is that the adult bone marrow multipotent pro$enitor

cells may have converted to insulin producin$ cells. Another hypothesis considers the presence of

multiple tissue specific stem cells in the bone marrow" which upon proper stimuli" convert to the

desired variety of cells. Composition of human umbilical cord blood is similar to that of bone marrow.

!oreover" the stem cells of umbilical cord blood contains most of the cell mar1ers of adult

multipotent bone marrow stem cells. This ma1es the human umbilical cord blood a $ood source for

pro$enitor cells that would convert to insulin producin$ cells.

&ome of the in vivostudies on diabetic animals" transplanted with human umbilical cord blood" show

improvement of blood $lucose level as well as duration of survival. These animals showed

morpholo$ical evidences of reduction of complication %$lomerular hypertrophy" tubular dilatation0 as

well.

&ome other studies shows that human umbilical cord blood cells may differentiate towards hepatocyte

li1e cells. This findin$ is of interest because both the pancreas and the liver are ori$inate from same

endodermal linea$e and thus have potential to differentiate to either one. &o" if one cell linea$e can

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differentiate to liver" it has potential to differentiate to pancreatic cell also.

:ne recent study" where pluripotent stem cells from cord blood were used to treat diabetic neuropathy"

showed improvement. That means stem cells are applicable not only to treatin$ diabetes but also

reversin$ it;s complications.

Before clinical application" scientists need to resolve many factors that may play vital role on the

whole process. Amon$ these" the first challen$e would have been separatin$ the desired cells

population from human umbilical blood. This is now possible with proper identification of cell surface

mar1ers and use them to sort them out. As umbilical cord blood contains low number of stem cells"

and people will need a $ood number of them for therapy" in vitroculture may be necessary. Another

fact that draws attention is that" the transplant will be used mostly on youn$ patients. &o" the cells

should have the capacity to proliferative both in vitro and in vivo. This can be achieved by

differentiatin$ them to -cell phenotype which can be achieved by two methods2 first one is

transplantation of cultivated stem cells or partially differentiated stem cells" which would then mi$rate

to different tissues and serve the purpose and the other approach is to in vitroproliferation of mature

or partially mature -cells and implant them. rawbac1 of the letter one is that the cells can not be

placed in the pancreas.

To conclude" althou$h the research on treatin$ diabetes with umbilical cord blood cells is still in their

early days" there are reasons to be optimi