Home > Press > Nanostimulators boost stem cells for muscle repair
Nanostimulators bind to the surface of stem cells, delivering agents that spur the cells to release factors that promote blood vessel growth and modulate inflammation in damaged muscle. Image by Janet Sinn-Hanlon, Veterinary Medicine at Illinois |
Abstract:
In regenerative medicine, an ideal treatment for patients whose muscles are damaged from lack of oxygen would be to invigorate them with an injection of their own stem cells.
In a new study published in the journal ACS Nano, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign demonstrated that “nanostimulators” – nanoparticles seeded with a molecule the body naturally produces to prompt stem cells to heal wounds – can amp up stem cells’ regenerative powers in a targeted limb in mice.
“We wanted to utilize the natural functions of the stem cells and the stimulating factors to address muscle ischemia locally,” said study leader Hyunjoon Kong, a Robert W. Schafer Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Illinois.
Muscle ischemia, or damage to muscle from limited oxygen or blood supply, can result from multiple causes, such as injury to a limb or peripheral artery disease. Stem cells derived from a patient’s own fat tissue are known to produce factors that prompt new blood vessels to grow into the damaged muscle, restoring oxygen and nutrients, and to modulate inflammation in the damaged tissues. However, in vivo experiments have shown limited benefits, as the stem cells’ activity seems to decline after injection into the muscle.
A molecule naturally produced in the body called tumor necrosis factor alpha can spur the stem cells to secrete more of the desired factors. Other studies have tried incubating the cells with TNF-alpha before injection, but the effects fade quickly, Kong said.
The Illinois team decided to try tethering the TNF-alpha directly to the stem cells, creating nanostimulators – nanoparticles laced with TNF-alpha. The nanoparticles bind to a receptor on the surface of the stem cells, providing localized, targeted and extended delivery of TNF-alpha.
“The primary benefit of stem cells toward tissue regeneration is not necessarily the ability for the cells to replace lost tissue, but to release beneficial growth factors and cytokines that assist in the process,” said study co-author Marni Boppart, a professor of kinesiology and community health. “The nanostimulators allow cells to release the beneficial factors longer than they would otherwise. This provides a significant advantage, particularly when cells are transplanted into injured, diseased or aged tissues.”
The researchers tested their approach on mice with surgically induced ischemia in one of their hind legs. They isolated the stem cells from fat tissue, mixed them with the nanostimulators and injected them locally to the mice’s affected legs.
The researchers saw increased blood flow and oxygen levels in the ischemic legs. They also witnessed improvements in mobility – the treated mice could walk longer distances and their legs were stronger.
“We propose that this method is better than methods that require chemical preconditioning, which can affect the viability of the stem cells, take 24 hours or more of culturing and have limited-time effects,” Kong said. “Our idea is to collect adipose tissue in the operating room, separate the stem cells, mix in the nanostimuators and reinject them to the patient – all in one procedure.”
The researchers caution that further work is necessary to optimize the conditions for stem cell harvesting and preparation, and to study the effects over longer terms.
“Peripheral artery disease can cause debilitating pain and long-term disability. Unfortunately, there are no consistently effective treatments for this condition,” Boppart said. “This study is important because it demonstrates the capacity for modified stem cells to effectively treat PAD in a preclinical model, representing a step closer toward relieving pain in humans.”
U.S. National Institutes of Health, the Korea Institute of Science and Technology and A*STAR in Singapore supported this work. Boppart and Kong also are affiliated with the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology and the Carle Illinois College of Medicine at the U. of I.
####
Contacts:
LIZ AHLBERG TOUCHSTONE
BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES EDITOR
217-244-1073
To reach Hyunjoon Kong, email
To reach Marni Boppart, email
Copyright © University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
If you have a comment, please Contact us.Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.
Related Links |
Related News Press |
News and information
Simulating magnetization in a Heisenberg quantum spin chain April 5th, 2024
NRL charters Navy’s quantum inertial navigation path to reduce drift April 5th, 2024
Discovery points path to flash-like memory for storing qubits: Rice find could hasten development of nonvolatile quantum memory April 5th, 2024
Govt.-Legislation/Regulation/Funding/Policy
NRL charters Navy’s quantum inertial navigation path to reduce drift April 5th, 2024
Discovery points path to flash-like memory for storing qubits: Rice find could hasten development of nonvolatile quantum memory April 5th, 2024
Chemical reactions can scramble quantum information as well as black holes April 5th, 2024
Possible Futures
Discovery points path to flash-like memory for storing qubits: Rice find could hasten development of nonvolatile quantum memory April 5th, 2024
With VECSELs towards the quantum internet Fraunhofer: IAF achieves record output power with VECSEL for quantum frequency converters April 5th, 2024
Nanomedicine
New micromaterial releases nanoparticles that selectively destroy cancer cells April 5th, 2024
Good as gold - improving infectious disease testing with gold nanoparticles April 5th, 2024
Researchers develop artificial building blocks of life March 8th, 2024
Discoveries
Chemical reactions can scramble quantum information as well as black holes April 5th, 2024
New micromaterial releases nanoparticles that selectively destroy cancer cells April 5th, 2024
Utilizing palladium for addressing contact issues of buried oxide thin film transistors April 5th, 2024
Announcements
NRL charters Navy’s quantum inertial navigation path to reduce drift April 5th, 2024
Discovery points path to flash-like memory for storing qubits: Rice find could hasten development of nonvolatile quantum memory April 5th, 2024
Interviews/Book Reviews/Essays/Reports/Podcasts/Journals/White papers/Posters
Simulating magnetization in a Heisenberg quantum spin chain April 5th, 2024
Discovery points path to flash-like memory for storing qubits: Rice find could hasten development of nonvolatile quantum memory April 5th, 2024
Nanobiotechnology
New micromaterial releases nanoparticles that selectively destroy cancer cells April 5th, 2024
Good as gold - improving infectious disease testing with gold nanoparticles April 5th, 2024
Researchers develop artificial building blocks of life March 8th, 2024
Research partnerships
Discovery points path to flash-like memory for storing qubits: Rice find could hasten development of nonvolatile quantum memory April 5th, 2024
Researchers’ approach may protect quantum computers from attacks March 8th, 2024
'Sudden death' of quantum fluctuations defies current theories of superconductivity: Study challenges the conventional wisdom of superconducting quantum transitions January 12th, 2024
The latest news from around the world, FREE | ||
Premium Products | ||
Only the news you want to read!
Learn More |
||
Full-service, expert consulting
Learn More |
||