Use of Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Possible Repair of Doxorubicin-Damaged Organs and Tissues in Experimental Monkeys

Abstract

Three injections of doxorubicin to rhesus macaques cause severe intoxication, characterized by anemia, cachexia, and degeneration of the viscera. The life span of monkeys injected with the drug and receiving after 24 h mesenchymal stem cell transplantation varied from 96 to 120 days in comparison with 50-74 days in animals receiving stem cells before doxorubicin. Controls received doxorubicin and saline; the lifespan of one monkey was 24 days, of the other — 1 year and 8 months. The increase in activity of proinflammatory cytokine IL-6 was paralleled by an increase in the level of C-reactive protein.