From pets to people?

UC Davis vets'
stem cell work gives humans hope
By The Sacramento Bee, adapted by Newsela staff on 03.03.16
Word Count 925

Megan Badgley, a veterinary technician and coordinator of clinical trials for stem cell research in cats, comforts Morris, 8,
after his exam at UCD Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Sacramento, California, Feb. 8, 2016. Renee C. Byer/Sacramento
Bee/TNS

DAVIS, Calif. Morris has no teeth left. Every last tooth was pulled as a drastic cure for a
painful condition that makes the 8-year-old cats mouth sore and inamed. It is a terrible
and exhausting illness that has bafed pet owners and veterinarians alike for decades.

Were talking about a mouth that is inamed with ulcers and looks like hamburger meat.
Its completely red and severely inamed. Its a very devastating disease in cats, said Dr.
Boaz Arzi, a dental surgeon and researcher with the University of California, Davis (UCD)
School of Veterinary Medicine.

Arzi and several other veterinarians are currently testing a promising new treatment on
Morris and about 20 other cats.

The new treatment is a form of stem cell therapy.

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Cats With Mouth Disease Get Stem Cells

Stem cells are "blank" cells that are capable of developing into other kinds of cells with
specic functions. They have proven useful in everything from healing wounds in dolphins
to easing arthritis in pigs and horses. In general, stem cell treatments are tested on
animals before being used on humans, to make sure they are both safe and effective.

UC Davis' stem cell treatment appears as if it may have wider possibilities beyond being
just a cure for cats. It holds tantalizing hope for humans aficted with a similar and equally
painful oral disease.

For human patients such as Debbie Nicholau, 62, the stem cell therapies being tested on
Morris and other cats could someday provide relief from a painful mouth disease. Three
years ago Nicholau was diagnosed with oral lichen planus, which makes eating, and
sometimes even speaking, difcult.

Its like peppers on a raw wound thats what it feels like, Nicholau said. She gets blood
blisters inside her mouth and ulcers on her tongue and lips. My mouth is just raw and on
re most of the time. Its not pleasant.

Problem May Be In Body's Immune System

There is no cure or known cause for oral lichen planus. It often strikes middle-aged women
and may be connected to a malfunctioning immune system. The immune system is the
body's natural defense against disease, but when it becomes weakened it sometimes
stops doing what it should be doing.

Dr. Nasim Fazel is currently treating about 30 patients with oral lichen planus, including
Nicholau. In many cases, Fazel said, the disease is difcult to treat and extremely painful.

Fazel is working closely with Arzis stem cell project to see if there is any potential for
similar treatment in humans. Its so important, Fazel said. These patients, we dont have
a lot to offer them for treatment. Patients are suffering so badly theres a need for
something that might work.

Morris the cat returned to UC Davis recently for a checkup following two stem cell
infusions. He appeared completely uninterested in his role as a possible medical pioneer
for humans.

Cats Usually Nervous About Treatment

Veterinary worker Megan Badgley said Morris and the other cats are typically nervous
when they are being seen, because for so many years they have lived in pain and endured
numerous visits to veterinarians ofces. We go as slow as they need us to go. They tell us
when theyre ready, she said.

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For Morris, the irritated-mouth problems started appearing about three years ago, said the
cat's owner, Michael Altamirano. The caramel-colored tabby was not eating well, was
clearly in pain and could not fully open his mouth to yawn. Altamirano took Morris to
several vets, including one who extracted all of his teeth, the standard treatment for Morris'
condition, which is known as feline chronic gingivostomatitis, or FCGS.

Leaving in his teeth wasnt an option, said Altamirano, who estimates he has spent nearly
$3,000 on Morriss disease care. Although Morris's symptoms improved after going
toothless, he was not completely cured.

Morris is exactly the kind of cat patient the UC Davis vet school was seeking for its clinical
trial, now in its third year. Morris is one of 20 cats in the study that suffer from FCGS but
have not responded to teeth extractions.

Research Results Are Promising

So far, stem cell therapy has shown promise as a cure. Stem cells are extracted from a
cat's fatty stomach tissue, puried and grown in a UC Davis lab, then injected into a cats
leg vein. Some cats get their own stem cells, while others receive those from healthy cats.
Most get two infusions, 30 to 45 minutes long, a month apart.

The treatment is intended to jump-start the cats immune system. Speaking in laymans
terms, stem cells release chemicals or proteins that tell the immune system to behave
properly, said Arzi. We convince the cells responsible for clearing inammation to go
back to doing what theyre supposed to be doing. Some are simply exhausted, so we
revive them.

In most cases, the severe oral inammations have calmed down, if not disappeared
altogether, in aficted cats.

The majority have shown clear or substantial clinical improvement, said Arzi. From a
scientic viewpoint, theyre a normal cat.

Whether the treatment would work with humans remains to be seen, as humans could
respond differently than dogs or cats.

Still, for patients suffering from the disease, a clinical trial for humans cannot come soon
enough.

Nicholau said she would sign up at the drop of a hat in hopes of nding a cure. This
illness is so difcult to live with and to treat that people who have it are willing to do
whatever we can to get relief. Im willing to be a guinea pig.

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Quiz

1 Read the sentence from the article.

Whether the treatment would work with humans remains to be seen, as

humans could respond differently than dogs or cats.

Which phrase has the SAME meaning as "remains to be seen" in the sentence above?

(A) is increasingly likely

(B) is not yet known

(C) is clearly visible

(D) is a future event

2 Read the following sentence.

The immune system is the body's natural defense against disease, but
when it becomes weakened it sometimes stops doing what it should
be doing.

Which phrase BEST helps you understand what the immune system is?

(A) natural defense

(B) when it becomes weakened

(C) stops doing

(D) what it should be doing

3 What is the purpose of including the following paragraph in the article?

Stem cells are "blank" cells that are capable of developing into other
kinds of cells with specic functions. They have proven useful in
everything from healing wounds in dolphins to easing arthritis in pigs
and horses. In general, stem cell treatments are tested on animals
before being used on humans, to make sure they are both safe and
effective.

(A) to tell about diseases that affect other animals

(B) to describe the process of using stem cells

(C) to show that stem cells have been used in treatments before

(D) to explain why stem cells should not be used in humans

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4 Read the quote from the section "Research Results Are Promising."

The majority have shown clear or substantial clinical improvement,

said Arzi. From a scientic viewpoint, theyre a normal cat.

What purpose does this quote serve in the article?

(A) It provides some evidence to support the use of stem cells to treat certain
diseases.

(B) It explains why cats respond particularly well to stem cell treatments.

(C) It describes the process that scientists use to determine the effectiveness of
stem cell treatments.

(D) It highlights the difference between cats who are ill and cats who have
experienced effective treatment.

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