A new, placenta-based cell therapy may be effective at thwarting a common medical complication during pregnancy that can put both mother and child at risk, and in rare cases, cause death.
In a study conducted by Pluristem Therapeutics ($PSTI) and Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine, researchers found that the Israel-based developer's PLacental eXpanded (PLX) cells effectively improved several parameters of preeclampsia in animal models.
Preeclampsia occurs in approximately 6% to 8% of pregnancies worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. A leading cause of premature births, stillbirths and early neonatal and maternal deaths, preeclampsia is characterized by high blood pressure and elevated levels of protein in the urine of a pregnant woman. If left untreated, it can develop into eclampsia, a life-threatening condition that causes seizures during pregnancy.
Researchers treated pregnant mice that developed gestational hypertension and proteinuria--an excess of serum proteins in the urine--with PLX cells and observed a reduction of systolic blood pressure, lower urinary protein excretion levels and a decrease in the weight of the spleen to levels seen in normal pregnant mice several days following PLX cell administration. Researchers also noted no significant differences in the number of pups per litter or in fetal demise per litter, suggesting that the PLX cells do not harm the fetus. The study will be presented May 30 at the Society for Gynecological Investigation Summit in Jerusalem.
The company's patented PLX cell drug-delivery platform works by releasing a cocktail of therapeutic proteins in response to a host of local and systemic inflammatory and ischemic diseases. Pluristem grows the PLX cells using a 3D microenvironmental technology the company developed. Last year, Pluristem caught criticism for reporting benefits of its experimental stem cell treatment for a child who later died, a detail that initially went unreported.
- read the press release