Therapeutic effect of human umbilical cord-derived multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells in a patient with Crigler–Najjar syndrome type I

The article presents the results of intravenous transplantation of allogeneic multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells, derived from a human umbilical cord, to a child with Crigler–Najjarsyndrome type I during the first 2 years of life. The therapy is aimed at reduction of the duration of phototherapy while maintaining a safe level of serum bilirubin.In this study, a five-day-old child with the bilirubin level of 340 µmol/l was treated with phototherapy for 16–18 hours daily in the neonatal period. Then, phototherapy was reduced to 14–16 hours. The level of bilirubin varied from 329 to 407 μmol/l. At the age of 2 months, it was decided to use multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells with a significant decrease in the duration of phototherapy up to 2 hours a day. During the observation period (2 years at the time of writing this article) the child received 6 injections of multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells. A positive effect developed within 4–7 days after administration and persisted for 2–3 months. There were no side effects or complications during and after transplantation.Thus, intravenous transplantation of multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells is an effective treatment of Crigler–Najjar syndrome type I; it reducesthe need for phototherapy,significantly improvesthe quality of life of the patients and prolongstheir life with native liver.