NatCell
Mesenchyme
A unique and unusual substance called Mesenchyme has arrived
in the USA with little notice or fanfare; however, you will
be hearing a lot about it in the years to come. Mesenchyme
will revolutionize the way we handle health problems because
of its astonishing and well-documented ability to repair and
rejuvenate damaged cells and tissues. Mesenchyme is undifferentiated
embryonic connective tissue, the true mother lode of cell
growth and cell regeneration. Mesenchymal cells develop during
the early embryonic stages of mammalian gestation and are
the source material from which most of the body’s organs
and tissues are made – everything from bones, muscles,
and connective tissue to the central nervous system (Moore
1989).
What is extraordinary about Mesenchyme is
that when it is ingested it migrates to the area of greatest
injury in the body. Once there, it aligns itself with the
damaged cells and/or tissues, becomes identical to them, and
then starts replicating.
Potential application:
Helps in supplementing the system with stimulating factors
extracted from mesenchymal tissues.
Potential mode of action:
The molecules selected through our manufacturing process support
their natural endogeneous counterparts once absorbed in the
body thus contributing to the body's homeostasis.
Recommended doses (sublingual administration):
1 vial per week
Product characteristics:
· Manufactured according to the requirements
of GMP standards for foods
· Frozen until its use in order to
preserve the structure and properties of the proteins
· 100% pure and natural. No preservatives
are added.
· Available in formats of 8 vials
of 7 ml each
· Aseptic according to USP XXIII standards
· Each extract is composed of low
molecular weight peptides (less than 50kDa) providing a better
absorption through the oral mucosae.
Caution:
This product may not be suitable for 1) pregnant or nursing
women; and 2) children under twelve years of age.
Mesenchyme:
Little Known Rejuvenating Healer
Rejuvenate: Make young or as if young again
(Concise Oxford Dictionary).
By James Wilson, N.D., Ph.D. and Carolyn McLuskie
A unique and unusual substance called mesenchyme
has arrived on the American market with little notice or fanfare.
However, you will be hearing a lot about it in the years to
come. Mesenchyme will revolutionize the way we handle health
problems because of its astonishing and well-documented ability
to repair and rejuvenate damaged cells and tissues.
Mesenchyme is undifferentiated embryonic connective
tissue, the true mother lode of cell growth and cell regeneration.
Mesenchymal cells develop during the early embryonic stages
of mammalian gestation and are the source material from which
most of the mammalian body’s organs and tissues are
made – everything from bones, muscles, and connective
tissue to the central nervous system (Moore 1989). What is
extraordinary about mesenchyme is that when it is ingested
it migrates to the area of greatest injury in the body. Once
there, it aligns itself with the damaged cells and/or tissues,
becomes identical to them, and then starts replicating.
Regenerates Damaged Cells
The result is regeneration or replacement of the damaged cells.
The implications for speedy and full recovery from everything
from broken bones to herniated discs are enormous. We now
have the potential to create healing where there was previously
no hope of recovery. Later in this article, you’ll hear
how one of the authors restored severely herniated discs that
should have required surgical fusion, as well as greatly accelerated
recovery from a ruptured Achilles tendon.
Interestingly, the mechanism for organ formation
from mesenchymal cells is still present in some adult animal
species. For example, it is the presence of mesenchymal cells
that allows a salamander to regenerate its tail if cut off.
In the human adult, the only mechanism where these cells normally
function is in the healing of wounds (NaturPharm 1993a).
The mesenchyme available on the market in
the U.S. is made from bovine embryonic mesenchymal cells.
The cells are harvested from pregnant cattle destined for
slaughter and subsequent human consumption. Only healthy fetuses
from healthy cattle are used. Because mesenchyme is, by definition,
undifferentiated fetal cellular material, it has not yet developed
immune markers. It is therefore accepted by the human host
without provoking an attack by the immune system and can freely
work its magic on any number of physical injuries and traumas.
Mesenchyme has the ability to migrate to any
tissue in need of repair and, once at the site, to take on
the characteristics of the healthy cell it associates with.
When mesenchyme is next to cartilage, it becomes cartilage
and replaces or repairs damaged cartilage. This is true for
organ tissues too: for example, when it is next to kidney
mesenchyme becomes kidney. If one has damaged cells from a
broken bone, mesenchyme associates itself with the wounded
tissue, assumes the specific characteristics of that type
of bone, and begins to repair the damaged tissue and create
new bone cells. It sounds incredible, but much research has
verified this unique action. Thus, mesenchyme has great potential
in regenerating diseased or injured tissues of all kinds (van
den Bos 1997).
The use of mesenchyme as a therapeutic substance
arises from experiments conducted early in the 20th century
by Dr. Alexis Carrel, 1912 Nobel Laureate in Biology, who
demonstrated that organic tissues could be regenerated in
vitro by the addition of fresh younger cells to the culture
medium. In the 1930s, the Swiss endocrinologist Dr. Paul Niehans
developed a technique for extracting cells from animals and
injecting them into his patients to compensate for their bodies’
deficiencies (Niehans 1960). One of the types of cell he found
most beneficial was mesenchyme.
Mesenchyme used in conjunction with other whole cells and
cellular extracts was popular in Europe during the 1960s and
1970s. Many well-known celebrities and politicians visited
reputable clinics and spas, including Dr. Niehans’ Clinique
La Prairie in Clarens, Switzerland, to receive live cell therapy.
Notables such as Charles de Gaulle, Charlie Chaplin and Sir
Winston Churchill were just a few of the wealthy, powerful
and famous figures of the last century who went to these spas
for live cell therapy, which included mesenchyme as a basic
part of the rejuvenation process.
What makes mesenchyme so unique, special,
and efficient is the fact that it is composed of pluripotential
cells, also known as mesenchymal stem cells, which have the
ability to become almost any kind of tissue or organ. Embryologically,
all connective and supportive tissues arise from mesenchymal
cells (Corliss 1976). The versatility of these pluripotential
cells allows them to form cartilage, bone, muscle, connective
tissue, and organ tissue (van den Bos 1997).
In all mammals mesenchyme eventually differentiates
into three embryonic tissues – the endoderm, the mesoderm,
and the ectoderm (Moore 1989). During embryonic development,
these three primitive cell types differentiate into all the
body’s organs and tissues. The endoderm forms the linings
of the digestive and respiratory tracts. The mesoderm develops
into muscle, connective tissues, bone, and blood vessels.
The ectoderm differentiates into the epidermis and the nervous
system. A portion of the mesenchyme remains in the placenta
and the yolk sac surrounding the embryo in the fetus. It is
this mesenchyme that is carefully separated to become the
commercially available product.
Versatile Differentiation
Mesenchymal cells migrate and differentiate in many different
ways: they may become fibroblasts (connective tissue cells
that manufacture collagen), chondroblasts (a type of differentiated
fibroblast that becomes cartilage), or osteoblasts (bone forming
cells). It is most versatile and effective as a therapeutic
agent when it contains cells as undifferentiated as possible
and is derived from all the mesenchymal layers (endoderm,
ectoderm, and mesoderm). Most mesenchyme used for commercial
purposes is harvested from the tissue surrounding the placenta
between the 50th and the 150th day of fetal development.
Mesenchyme’s uncanny capacity for seeking
out and restoring damaged tissues and cells of any kind makes
it invaluable in illnesses where there is significant cell
damage and a need for repair. Mesenchyme speeds healing, decreases
scar tissue formation, decreases complications of healing,
and heals beyond what medical professionals typically think
is possible.
Severely Herniated Discs
A case in point: six years ago, writer McLuskie was involved
in a car accident which left her with three severely herniated
discs in her neck, C5-6, C6-7, and C7-8. Within a year of
the accident, the pain was so severe that her employer allowed
her to work from home three days a week. She was unable to
sit upright for more than ½ hour at a time due to the
excruciating pain. She consulted three orthopedic surgeons,
all of whom delivered the same chilling prognosis: the discs
were deteriorating; there was no recourse but spinal fusion
surgery; and after that the degeneration would continue. At
least they were honest!
Soon after this news, Ms. Mcluskie interviewed Dr. James Wilson
on the subject of live cell therapy. Coincidentally, the FDA
had just approved mesenchyme as a dietary supplement. On hearing
how a woman scheduled for hip surgery had successfully used
live cell therapy to restore the destroyed cartilage, avoid
surgery, and walk again, Ms. McLuskie was galvanized. Under
Dr. Wilson’s supervision, she began using the same protocol,
a combination of shark cartilage and mesenchyme, taken sublingually.
Pain-free with Increased Disc Height.
Part of her therapy involved neck traction
for 20 minutes twice daily, to provide room for the new disc
tissue to grow. And grow it did. After four months, Ms. McLuskie
was pain-free, and has been pain-free ever since. A recent
x-ray of her neck, when compared to one taken after the accident,
showed graphic proof that there was indeed increased disc
height between her formerly herniated cervical vertebrae.
To regain disc height of a herniated disc lies outside the
realm of possibility of a typical medical protocol.
In August 1999, Ms. McLuskie ruptured her
left Achilles tendon during a tennis match. The full rupture
was surgically reattached and she was in a knee-high cast
for eight weeks. During this time, she took mesenchyme twice
daily to restore the torn tendon. After finding out that mesenchyme
is 10 times more potent when injected, Ms. McLuskie overcame
her fear of needles and self-administered the twice-daily
subcutaneous injections.
It paid off. When the cast was removed, Ms.
McLuskie’s orthopedic surgeon was visibly shocked at
the extent of her healing, as she was able to fully flex her
foot. Normally an ankle or foot immobilized for eight weeks
has a very limited range of motion and is very stiff, weak,
and inflexible when the cast is removed. It typically takes
several weeks to several months for the ankle to regain its
full range of motion, flexibility and strength. The physician
was so taken aback by the flexibility of the ankle that he
checked her non-injured foot to be sure that she had normal
flexion, and not hyperflexion.
Unique Healing Modality
As this unique healing modality becomes better known, and
more clinical research on mesenchyme is completed, it is inevitable
that more and more doctors will familiarize themselves with
its use. Then we will see mesenchyme being used by physicians
who have the best interests of their patients at heart.
Meanwhile, mesenchyme continues to restore
lives. In another case, Dr. Wilson recommended mesenchyme
therapy in conjunction with liquid shark cartilage to a professional
snowboarder who had gone over a 60-foot cliff and crushed
two vertebrae in his lower back – T11-12 and T12-L1.
The presiding physician had told him it was doubtful he would
ever walk again. After eight weeks of taking mesenchyme and
shark cartilage, the young man was not only walking, he was
actively working at light physical labor, lifting crates.
The research on mesenchyme provides an interesting look at
the broad-based medical applications in store for this incredible
substance. Scientists have been closely examining mesenchyme’s
intriguing qualities for some time. Mesenchyme’s potential
to literally become any type of tissue (that pluripotentiality
again) has been described and elucidated in several research
studies (Caplan 1991, Caplan 1994, Pittenger 1999).
A large part of the reason mesenchyme is commercially
available is that it can be successfully harvested and cryopreserved
(flash-frozen), then thawed with no loss of cellular action.
Researchers at Osiris Therapeutics in Baltimore, Maryland
extracted mesenchymal stem cells from normal human bone marrow,
and subjected them to cryopreservation. They found that fast
freezing and subsequent thawing of mesenchyme had no effect
on its ability to regenerate damaged tissue (Bruder 1997).
Researchers may have discovered one of the keys to mesenchyme’s
ability to regenerate damaged tissue. It appears that mesenchymal
stem cells produce the receptor sites for two potent growth
factors known as fibroblastic growth factors 1 and 2, or FG1
and FG2. When the FG1 or FG2 comes along, it locks on to these
receptor sites, and “lights it up for action.”
When it does, the mesenchyme proliferates at an increased
rate. Since part of mesenchyme’s action is to become
like the healthy cells it is aligned with, there is accelerated
regeneration of healthy cells. The study authors concluded
that “human mesenchymal stem cells have great potential
in regenerating diseased or injured tissues” (van den
Bos 1997). This increased growth rate, combined with the knowledge
that mesenchyme seeks out damaged and diseased cells, and
that it takes on the characteristics of the cells it is near,
now explains why healing and regeneration can occur more rapidly
with an abundance of mesenchyme present in the body.
‘Regenerates Functional Tissue’
Another research group observed that mesenchyme has “been
shown to regenerate functional tissue when delivered to the
site of musculoskeletal defects in experimental animals"
(Bruder 1998a). This research group tested human mesenchyme’s
ability to heal a clinically significant bone defect. They
implanted human mesenchyme into critical-sized segmental defects
in the femurs of adult rats. Evidence of new bone was apparent
by eight weeks, with increasing bone formation through 12
weeks. “These studies demonstrate that human mesenchymal
stem cells can regenerate bone in a clinically significant
osseous defect and may therefore provide an alternative to
autogenous bone grafts,” the researchers reported at
the conclusion of the study.
Another study reviewed the effects of mesenchyme
on bone development, bone repair, and skeletal regeneration
(Bruder 1994). It concluded that understanding how mesenchyme
performs these phenomenal regenerative feats “provides
the foundation for the emergence of a new therapeutic technology
for cell therapy.” The researchers in this same study
predicted that mesenchyme “will support the development
of novel protocols for the treatment of many clinically challenging
conditions,” including osteoporosis “We can begin
to explore therapeutic options that have never before been
available.”
Researchers at Veterans Affairs Medical Center
in Miami, Florida further developed the concept that mesenchyme
may provide a therapeutic advantage in dealing with osteoporosis
(D’Ippolito 1999). In this study, researchers wanted
to test the hypothesis that age-related decreases in bone
mass result from decreased osteoblasts (the cells that create
bone) secondary to an age-related loss of osteoprogenitors,
the cellular catalysts that spur osteoblast growth and bone
formation.
They extracted bone marrow from the vertebrae
of 41 donors of various ages (3-70 years old) who had died
of traumatic injury. Extensive testing revealed that the number
of mesenchymic stem cells with bone-building potential decreases
early in the aging of humans, and may be responsible for the
age-related reduction in osteoblasts.
The researchers commented that these results are particularly
important because the vertebrae are a site of rapidly developing
osteoporosis, and possibly the earliest site of bone loss
in age-related osteoporosis. This further indicates a possible
role for mesenchyme in establishing new protocols for dealing
with the crippling effects of osteoporosis.
Alternative to Bone Grafts
An alternative to painful and costly bone grafts would be
an extremely welcome and useful addition to the limited therapeutic
choices currently available. Another research study used human
mesenchyme to repair an osseous defect in a dog (Bruder 1998b).
(Remember, mesenchyme is undifferentiated fetal tissue without
immune factors, so it can be received and used by other mammals
without being rejected.)
Commenting on their results, the researchers
said: “It was established that human MSCs [mesenchyme]
form bone of considerable mechanical integrity when implanted
in an osseous defect in an immunocompromised animal. Furthermore,
bone repair studies in dogs verify that the technology is
transferable to large animals, and that the application of
this technology to patients at geographically remote sites
is feasible. …These studies suggest that by combining
MSCs with an appropriate delivery vehicle, it may be possible
to offer patients new therapeutic options.”
A research group at the University of Cincinnati’s Noyes-Giannestras
Biomechanics Laboratories studied mesenchyme’s ability
to restore a surgically created defect in a rabbit tendon
(Awad 1999). Mesenchymal cells were implanted into a clinically
created defect in the right tendon, and a cell-free collagen
gel was implanted into an identical control defect in the
left tendon. Repair tissues were evaluated at four weeks after
surgery and compared to their matched controls.
The tendon tissue repaired with mesenchyme
demonstrated significant increases in three areas used to
measure the strength of a material. When compared with control
results, there was a 26% gain in maximum stress, the amount
of force required to cause a material to fail. There was an
18% gain in modulus, the ability of a material to resist being
stretched when a force is applied to it. Researchers also
noted a 33% gain in strain energy density, the amount of energy
that a material (such as a compressed spring) can store before
its internal bonds are disrupted and it changes shape.
The researchers also observed minor improvements
in the tissue structure of some of the mesenchyme-mediated
repairs, including increased number of tenocytes (tendon forming
cells) and larger and more mature-looking collagen fiber bundles.
They concluded: “…Delivering a large number of
mesenchymal stem cells to a wound site can significantly improve
its biomechanical properties.” Ms. McLuskie can personally
attest to this, as can the surgeon who reattached her torn
Achilles tendon and was so surprised by her rapid recovery.
Resurrects Aging Cells
Mesenchyme restores bones and tendons, and opens a world of
possibilities for new therapeutic options that actually heal
by regenerating damaged, diseased or destroyed tissue. The
research really starts to get exciting when we look at mesenchyme’s
regenerative abilities. A significant study on its ability
to resurrect aging cells was published in 1990. This study
was a collaborative effort by researchers from the German
Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg, the Clinique La Prairie
in Clarens, Switzerland, and the Max-Planck Institute for
Immunbiology in Freiburg, Germany. The researchers examined
how mesenchymal cells affected old or senescent cells that
had lost their ability to divide and could no longer exhibit
mitotic activity (Amtmann 1990).
Researchers introduced mesenchyme from embryonic
sheep tissue into these aged cell cultures. The mesenchyme
restored the aged cells’ responsiveness to growth factors
and the cells resumed their ability to undergo mitotic divisions.
They became like young cells again.
“Aging cells are known to lose responsiveness
to growth factors despite the presence of respective receptors,”
the researchers commented in their discussion of the study
results. “Thus, restoring the responsiveness to growth
factors that are contained in serum is likely not to be due
to a reacquisition or an unmasking of receptors. Rather, one
could envisage that transacting factors might be either induced
or activated by the embryonic tissue extract in the senescent
cells, thus augmenting transcriptional activities that may
be prerequisites for the activation of cellular DNA synthesis.
Mesenchyme seems to reawaken the aging cell’s ability
to respond to the directive of growth factors to divide and
grow.
Limited Availability in U.S.
We can expect a plethora of research examining mesenchyme’s
rejuvenating effects on a wide range of ailments, defects
and disabilities that were formerly thought incurable. But,
despite its amazing properties, don’t expect mesenchyme
to appear on drugstore shelves and become part of mainstream
medicine, at least in the near future. Presently it is only
available from one Canadian firm and a few European companies
that distribute in the U.S. Most available mesenchymes are
injectables; however the Canadian company sells it as a nutritional
supplement to be taken sublingually. In most cases, the products
must be obtained through a physician.
Side Effects
When taking mesenchyme, some people may have a rapid reaction
in which they experience increased vitality. This is sometimes
followed by a period of weariness and the need for increased
sleep. They may also feel a sense of well being similar to
the feeling experienced after a rich meal. The temperature
may rise .5 to 1.0 degrees Celsius (.9 to 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit)
for several hours intermittently during the first few days.
This is due to the mild stimulation of the immune response
produced by mesenchyme (NaturPharm 1993b).
In addition to the rather remarkable qualities
listed above, mesenchyme might be most sought after because
of its common “side effects”. Over time, a person
taking 1 to 2 vials of mesenchyme per week will notice that
the revitalization process produces a number of clinical changes,
which can be noticed most particularly in the skin. (It has
been used topically in some cosmetics.) The quality of the
skin improves overall, including tone and elasticity, with
a pinkish tinge to the cheeks. People attain a fresh, more
youthful and dewy look. There is increased resistance to fatigue,
improved circulation, and increased physical and mental abilities
(NaturPharm 1993b). These changes are seen in addition to
changes in the condition for which the person is taking mesenchyme.
Mesenchyme has shown great potential for those
suffering from a degenerative condition, recovering from an
injury, or dealing with osteoporosis or any kind of tissue
degeneration or disease. It may be worth your while to investigate
the rejuvenating and reparative possibilities of mesenchyme.
Show this article to your physician, and let mesenchyme help
you regenerate your life.
References
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to growth factors in
senescent cells by an embryonic cell extract.” Exper
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Awad, H. et al. (1999). “Autologous mesenchymal stem
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osteobiology and applied bone regeneration.” Clin Orthop;
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Bruder, S. et al. (1998b). “Bone regeneration by implantation
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Bruder, S. et al. (1997). “Growth kinetics, self-renewal,
and the osteogenic potential of
purified human mesenchymal stem cells during extensive subcultivation
and
following cryopreservation.” J Cell Biochem; 64 (2):
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