Bone Marrow Stem Cells as a Source of Allogenic Hepatocyte Transplantation in Homozygous Familial Hypercholesterolemia

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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Patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia has very high serum cholesterol levels despite receiving lipid lowering drugs (e.g. statins, etc). Most of such patients die before the age of 20 due to myocardial infarction, etc. Orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) is an effective treatment for that. Hepatocyte transplantation is an alternative to OLT that may help to overcome the shortage of donor organs. There have been reports of successful treatment of different kinds of metabolic liver disorders by hepatocyte transplantation. The major problem with hepatocyte transplantation is that the source of hepatocytes is very limited. Bone marrow stem cells are the potential source of hepatocytes. In the in-vitro culture system successful and efficient transdifferentiation of mesenchymal stem cells into hepatocytes has been documented. We have already shown that infusion of mesenchymal stem cells is safe and feasible in cirrhosis (Mohamadnejad M, et al. Arch Iran Med 2007; In Press). In this study, 2 patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia will be included. The bone marrow of healthy volunteers with a normal lipid profile will be taken, then bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) will be cultured, and then MSCs will be trans-differentiate into hepatocytes, and the cells will be infused through the portal vein into the patients. The duration of follow up will be 6 months post-transplantation.

Detailed Description
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Patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia has very high serum cholesterol levels despite receiving lipid lowering drugs (e.g. statins, etc). Most of such patients die before the age of 20 due to myocardial infarction, etc. Orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) is an effective treatment and can decrease their serum cholesterol to near normal levels (Bilheimer DW, N Engl J Med 1984; 311:1658-64). Shortage of donor organ is a major problem for OLT. Hepatocyte transplantation is an alternative to OLT that may help to overcome the shortage of donor organ. There have been reports of successful treatment of different kinds of metabolic liver disorders (such as Crigler Najjar Syndrome (Fox IJ, et al. N Engl J Med 1998;338:1422-6), Factor VII deficiency (Dhawan A et al. Transplantation 2004:78:1812-4), Glycogen storage disease type Ia (Muraca M, et al. Lancet 2002;359:317-8), etc) by hepatocyte transplantation. The major problem with hepatocyte transplantation is that the source of hepatocytes is very limited. Bone marrow stem cells are the potential source of hepatocytes. Although, in the in-vivo system there is a controversy that if stem cells transdifferentiate into hepatocytes or fusion of stem cells and hepatocytes occur, however, in the in-vitro culture system successful and efficient transdifferentiation of mesenchymal stem cells into hepatocytes has been documented (Lee KD, et al. Hepatology 2004;40:1275-1284; & Banas A, et al. Hepatology. 2007;46:219-28). We have already shown that infusion of mesenchymal stem cells is safe and feasible in cirrhosis (Mohamadnejad M, et al. Arch Iran Med 2007; In Press). In this study, 2 female patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia will be included. The bone marrow of ABO compatible healthy male volunteers with a normal lipid profile will be taken, then bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) will be cultured, and then MSCs will be trans-differentiate into hepatocytes in the in-vitro culture system. Then the cells will be infused through the portal vein into the patients. The duration of follow up will be 6 months post-transplantation.

Official Title
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In-Vitro Transdifferentiation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells to Hepatocytes and Allogenic Transplantation of Hepatocytes to the Patients With Homozygous Familial Hypercholesterolemia

Conditions
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Hypercholesterolemia, Familial

Intervention / Treatment
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* Procedure: Cellular transplantation


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Severe hypercholesterolemia unresponsive to lipid lowering agents (e.g. statins) Presence of tendon xanthoma Documentation of homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia by appropriate genetic testing Female gender Exclusion Criteria: Male gender
Sexes Eligible for Study
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Female

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Treatment
Allocation: Non-Randomized
Intervention Model: Single Group Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: A<br> | Procedure: Cellular transplantation<br>* 600 million to 1 billion cells will be infused through the portal vein over 30 minutes. Infusion will be done one time.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Serum cholesterol and LDL levels |  | 6 Months | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Tracking the infused cells |  | Month 2 post-transplantation | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Hypercholesterolemia, Familial, Bone marrow, Mesenchymal stem cell, Hepatocyte