Investigating the treatment of silicosis with autologous bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells

[Abstract] Objective To explore the safety and curative effects of autologous bone marrow-derived mesenehymal stem cells （BMSCs） in the treatment of silicosis. Methods The protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of the hospital, and ten patients with silicosis who had given written consent were enrolled in this study. BMSCs isolated from 100 ml of bone marrow for each case were purified and cultm＇ed. I11 each case the 3rd generation of qualified BMSCs （5×10^7） were intravenously administered weekly for 3 weeks. Three cas- es among 10 patients were treated with BMSCs modified by hepatocyte growth factor （HGF） gene. The clinical symptoms, chest films, chest CT, pulmonary fimctions, T cells, serum IgG and ceruloplasmin （CP） were observed in 6 or 9 months after treatment. Results No obvious sub-effect was observed in cases treated with BMSCs, the clinical symptoms （such as cough, sputum and chest tightness） basically disappeared in 9 months after treat- ment. Pulmonary function tests showed that FVC increased from 71.2%＋17.0% to 84.0%-＋10.9% （P〈0.OI） and FEVL0 increased from 67.5%-＋17.7% to 80.6%-＋14.9% （P〈0.01）. The levels of serum CP and IgG significantly decreased （P〈0.01）. Further, the chest films and CT in cases treated with autologous BMSCs modified by HGF gene were improved to different extent. Conclusion Treatment with autologous BMSCs modified by HGF gene exhibit a beneficial effect on silicosis. Key words: Hepatocyte growth factor;  Myeloid progenitorcell;  Silicosis;  Treatment outcome