"Allogeneic" refers to tissue taken from a donor of the same species. Dogs are among the subjects used in allogeneic stem cell research, often not as targeted patients but as experimental animals in lieu of human beings. After treatment, some are “sacrificed” in order for researchers to analyze their tissue. Yet, the advances made in these therapies also can apply to dogs as the patients for healing through stem cell therapy.
-
The Dog-Human Circle
-
The “Seattle Post-Intelligencer” in 2008 reported that Washington State University offers stem cell transplants for dogs. Dr. Jeffrey Bryan, a veterinary oncologist at the university, stated: "They helped us figure out how to help save ourselves, and so this represents a big give-back to the canine species.” His department specializes in lymphoma, the most common cancer in dogs.
Dogs for Research
-
Why do researchers step up from mouse to dogs for their research? Researchers at the Institute for Molecular Research and Biotechnology of Germany published their rationale in “Human Molecular Genetics” in 2008. They explained that large animals, like dogs, better mimic the complex human body. The mouse, however, by its size and short life limits long-term studies. Thus, before researchers would use stem cell treatments on humans, they want to test them on larger animals. Yet, the experiments on the dogs themselves help medical scientists to learn how to treat canine health problems.
Dog Donors for Dogs
-
The 2003 issue of “The Journal for Joint and Bone Surgery” published a research report involving Osiris Therapeutics of Baltimore, Maryland. The researchers&' goal was to see if allogeneic stem cells would affect a bone deficiency in a dog’s femur. First, they noticed that the dog displayed no adverse responses to stem cells taken from another dog. After 16 weeks, new bone tissue formed. This result was comparable to previous studies using autologous cells, cells from the patient. Both methods produced an increase of bone tissue.
Healing Spines
-
“Radiology Source” in 2009, published a report from researchers at the College of Veterinary Medicine in South Korea that compared autologous and allogenic stem cell treatments on dogs. They studied 30 beagle dogs, dividing them into 10 for each group--autologous group, allogenic group and control group. Seven days after inducing spinal cord injuries, the researchers injected mesenchymal (multipotent) stem cells (MSCs) into the injured areas. Tests at one week and again at four weeks after treatment showed improvements for the stem-cell-treated dogs, but not for the control group. Even though the autologous group showed the greater improvement, researchers concluded that “both autologous and allogenic MSC transplantation could be clinically useful therapeutic approaches for treating spinal cord injury.”
Implications for Dogs and Humans
-
For thousands of years man and dog have been looking out for each other. Dr. Rainer Storb, a pioneer in bone marrow and stem cell research, in the “Seattle Post-Intelligencer” article in 2008 said the dog “is the only species other than humans that has such a large spectrum of genetic diversity….they also suffer many of the same diseases as humans.” Research for one group helps the other.
-