A new ‘hybrid’ hydrogel that allows clinicians to safely deliver stem cells to brain injury sites in mice has been developed by researchers at the University of Melbourne and the Australian National University.
Hydrogels are aqueous gels that can be used to deliver substances into the body and can be used to promote effective growth of new cells.
This proof-of-concept breakthrough, published in Nature Communications, solves a major challenge facing stem cell researchers since the 1980s. This means keeping the stem cells alive long enough so that when they are inserted into the body, they can evolve into the cells needed to create new tissue. damaged parts of the body.
The hydrogel supplies both the stem cells and the oxygen they need to keep them alive during the infusion process, ensuring that they evolve into the type of cells needed to create new tissue to repair damage. increase. Researchers believe this advance could aid in stem cell therapy in many other parts of the body beyond the brain and central nervous system.
The team that developed the hydrogel is co-led by Professor David Nisbet of the University of Melbourne and Director of the Graeme Clark Institute for Biomedical Engineering. Also, Professor Colin Jackson at the Australian National University (ANU) is a member of both the Peptide and Protein Science Innovation and Synthetic Biology Australian Research Council Centers of Excellence.
Professor Nisbet says: That’s why you need a temporary blood supply to support your cells until your blood system is repaired. This patented hydrogel provides that.
“There are few medications that can treat conditions such as stroke and Parkinson’s disease, and they do very little. Currently, there are no treatments that can reverse these conditions.”
Professor Jackson said the breakthrough will be of interest to researchers and clinicians around the world and will likely lead to many innovative medical treatments.
“Although proof-of-concept is currently being demonstrated in the mouse brain, this work will develop injectable nanomaterials for a variety of applications, including cell transplantation, gene and drug delivery, 3D in vitro disease models, and organ transplantation. It represents a generalizable strategy to develop a chip technology,” Jackson said.
After more than five years of research, the team added a synthetic protein based on myoglobin (a naturally occurring protein present in high concentrations in the heart muscle of sperm whales and horses) to the hydrogel to ensure the persistence necessary for stem cell survival. have been found to provide significant oxygen release. Through the delivery process, it develops into the types of cells needed to repair brain tissue.
Whales and other deep-sea animals are thought to have evolved high concentrations of myoglobin in their muscle tissue so that they can slowly absorb as much oxygen as possible while diving. Similarly, horses are thought to have evolved higher concentrations of myoglobin to enable them to run longer distances.
Professor Clare Parrish of the University of Melbourne, who conducted a mouse study, said the results were achieved with damaged brain tissue, raising the possibility of growing new tissue for future human treatments.
“We found that hydrogels incorporating myoglobin and stem cells repaired damaged brain tissue. Analysis 28 days after delivery of the hydrogels showed healthy brain function compared to hydrogels without myoglobin. We found that the survival and growth of the new stem cells that are required for physiotherapy are significantly enhanced,” said Professor Parrish.
“We observe that new tissue is stimulated in a manner similar to healthy brain tissue, and are the first of the advantages of including oxygen delivery within hydrogels to achieve long-term survival and integration of stem cell transplantation.” I have provided proof.”
Original: New hydrogel stem cell treatment repairs damaged brain tissue in mice
Than: University of Melbourne | Australian National University
