Today’s Paper: Adipose-Derived MSCs for Chronic Kidney Disease

This week, I’m switching gears. Most of the studies I cover are animal-focused, but this time we’re looking at a human pilot study that gives us insights we can bring right back into veterinary medicine.

Paper: “Adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stromal cells for treating chronic kidney disease: A pilot study assessing safety and clinical feasibility.”

Authors: Villanueva, González, Lorca, Tapia, López G, Strodthoff, Fajre, Carreño, Valjalo, Vergara, Lecanda, Bartolucci, Figueroa, Khoury. Journal/Year: Kidney Research and Clinical Practice, 2019.

Why This Matters

CKD is progressive, permanent, and expensive—on both the human and veterinary sides. Prevalence snapshots: ~1% of dogs overall (≈10% in seniors); ~3% of cats overall (up to 50% after age 15). Breeds differ, and dogs often fare worse. Standard care slows decline but doesn’t stop it. MSCs are attractive for their anti-inflammatory, trophic, and immune-modulating effects.

At Ardent, we’ve seen more than a decade of cat cases where MSCs improve appetite, weight stability, and energy—even when bloodwork isn’t a fireworks show.

Study Design

• Participants: 7 enrolled; 1 excluded for poor cell expansion → 6 treated (3 men, 3 women; mean age 42). Four had hypertension. Mean serum creatinine 2.22 mg/dL.
• Intervention: Single IV infusion of autologous adipose-derived MSCs at 1M cells/kg, in 120 mL LRS over 30–40 min. One patient received ~59% of target dose.
• Control approach: Each patient served as their own control (12 months pre-treatment vs. 12 months post-treatment). Standard meds, BP control, and protein restriction continued.

Results

• Safety: No treatment-related adverse events. Coagulation, liver, and metabolic labs stayed stable.
• Proteinuria: Worsened during the control period; decreased in nearly all patients after MSC therapy. Even the renal-dysplasia case slowed its decline compared with pre-treatment.
• Renal function: eGFR decline overall wasn’t statistically significant, but 5/6 patients had plasma creatinine reductions (7.5%–49%). Lower-inflammation phenotypes seemed to stabilize better—hinting MSC benefits aren’t just anti-inflammatory window dressing.

Why It’s Exciting (and useful for vets)

• Feasibility: One IV dose, well tolerated. No drama.
• Meaningful signal: Broad proteinuria improvement, with several creatinine drops, mirrors what we see in cats—quality-of-life wins even when lab numbers are shy.
• Right cell source: Adipose-derived MSCs are less invasive to harvest and yield more cells than bone marrow—important since bone-marrow MSCs can be defective in some CKD patients. Practical for both human and veterinary settings.

A single IV infusion of autologous adipose-derived MSCs in CKD was safe, feasible, and showed encouraging proteinuria reductions with some creatinine improvements.

For veterinary medicine, it reinforces what many of us already see: stem cell therapy can provide meaningful improvements, especially in quality of life, even when blood values don’t tell the full story. What do you think—could MSCs reshape how we approach CKD in pets? You can read the full study and email me at [email protected]