[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2019\/02\/harnessing-power-lymph-node\/#Article","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2019\/02\/harnessing-power-lymph-node\/","headline":"Harnessing the Power of the Lymph Node","name":"Harnessing the Power of the Lymph Node","description":"The unique efficiency of lymph nodes in developing cells is putting them at the forefront of an exciting bioengineering effort that could someday lead to the replacement of organs lost to disease.","datePublished":"2019-02-01","dateModified":"2023-02-01","author":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.upmc.com\/","name":"UPMC","url":"https:\/\/www.upmc.com\/","sameAs":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/upmc\/","parentOrganization":"UPMC"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"UPMC HealthBeat","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/UPMC-HealthBeat-Logo.png","url":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/UPMC-HealthBeat-Logo.png","width":600,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/UPMC_NEXT-ARTICLE_HEADER-LYMPH-1920x540.jpg","url":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/UPMC_NEXT-ARTICLE_HEADER-LYMPH-1920x540.jpg","height":540,"width":1920},"url":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2019\/02\/harnessing-power-lymph-node\/","about":["Cancer Care"],"wordCount":600,"articleBody":"Do lymph nodes hold the key to regenerating failed organs?Our body\u2019s lymph nodes generally go unnoticed, unless they become swollen and painful in the fight against infection. They\u2019re part of a body-wide system that quietly grows immune cells, circulates them to infection sites, and carries away waste.Recently, however, the unique efficiency of lymph nodes in developing cells is putting them at the forefront of an exciting bioengineering effort that could someday lead to the replacement of organs lost to disease.The Ultimate BioreactorEric Lagasse, MD, director of the Cancer Stem Cell Center at the University of Pittsburgh\u2019s McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, describes the lymph node as the \u201cultimate bioreactor\u201d that can potentially outdo any piece of lab equipment when it comes to regenerating cells. \u201cIt has access to the blood system, the lymph system, and everything else needed to support growing cells,\u201d he says.More importantly, the lymph node plays an integral role in a little-understood mechanism that directs cell progenitors (stem cells and other building blocks) to become fully developed, specialized cell structures that can perform important body functions. Scientists like Dr. Lagasse are hoping that what the lymph node can do for immune cells, it can do for liver, kidney, and other cells.For nearly a decade, Dr. Lagasse has been growing functional liver, thymus, pancreas, kidney and other tissues in animal lymph nodes. His cell research has passed from small to large animal experiments, and is now awaiting approval for clinical trials at UPMC and other progressive medical centers around the country. But it\u2019s the McGowan Institute\u2019s kidney research that could yield the most meaningful results.The Disease With No CureFew human diseases compare to kidney disease, with its relatively high rate of occurrence, a life-threatening end stage, and the complete lack of a cure. \u201cIn kids, cancer has an 80 percent cure rate. End stage kidney disease failure has zero,\u201d says Carlton Bates, MD, chief of pediatric nephrology at UPMC Children\u2019s Hospital of Pittsburgh. \u201cChronically damaged kidneys don\u2019t get better. The treatment is dialysis, which can dramatically shorten a life. And kidney transplantation is fraught with a chronic shortage of donors. That\u2019s why there\u2019s so much interest in this research.\u201dOver the last several years, Dr. Lagasse, Dr. Bates, and others at UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh have been exploring the lymph node\u2019s remarkable regenerative ability. In research first published in 2016, Dr. Lagasse demonstrated that deconstructed mouse kidney tissue, placed in a mouse lymph node, could develop into functional kidney structures that could filter blood and produce urine. The team is now exploring the process at the cellular level, using induced pluripotent stem cells in their efforts to identify the complete set of progenitor materials that would form an actual kidney. As research progresses from mice to larger animals, the data will provide a better picture of how this process might be successful using human lymph nodes.A Kidney From a Lymph Node?Could the day come when doctors are able to transform a lymph node into a fully integrated, fully functional kidney inside a patient\u2019s body? \u201cIt\u2019s a possibility,\u201d says Dr. Bates. \u201cBut what\u2019s more promising in the near term is the understanding this work gives us of the mechanisms of growing tissue inside the body instead of a petri dish. This process is more robust and more productive, and it lets us see the results in a living system. It could point us toward an even better way to someday replace an organ inside the body.\u201d"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2019","item":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2019\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"02","item":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2019\/\/02\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Harnessing the Power of the Lymph Node","item":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2019\/02\/harnessing-power-lymph-node\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]