Artificial Stem Cells Promote Cardiac Repair in Mouse Model

A team of biomedical engineers created a novel class of artificial stem cells that mimic the function of cardiac stem cells and aid repair of damaged heart tissue without danger of adverse immune response or the possibility of tumor generation.

Results of recent studies have indicated that stem cells exert their beneficial effects mainly through secretion of regenerative factors and membrane-based cell-cell interaction with the injured cells. Expanding on these findings, investigators at the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill, USA) and North Carolina State University (Raleigh, USA) fabricated microparticles (CMMP, for cell-mimicking microparticles) from the biodegradable and biocompatible polymer poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) or PLGA. The PLGA microparticles were loaded with growth factor proteins that had been harvested from cultured human cardiac stem cells. The particles were then coated with membranes from cardiac stem cells.

The investigators reported in the December 26, 2016, online edition of the journal Nature Communications that in a mouse model of myocardial infarction, injection of CMMPs led to preservation of viable myocardium and augmentation of cardiac functions similar to cardiac stem cell therapy. CMMPs (derived from human cells) did not stimulate T-cell infiltration in immuno-competent mice. In addition, since CMMPs are artificial constructs they cannot replicate, which eliminated the risk of tumor formation.

“The synthetic cells operate much the same way a deactivated vaccine works,” said senior author Dr. Ke Cheng, professor of molecular biomedical sciences at North Carolina State University and associate professor in the joint biomedical engineering program at North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina. “Their membranes allow them to bypass the immune response, bind to cardiac tissue, release the growth factors, and generate repair, but they cannot amplify by themselves. So you get the benefits of stem cell therapy without risks. We are hoping that this may be a first step toward a truly off-the-shelf stem cell product that would enable people to receive beneficial stem cell therapies when they are needed, without costly delays.”

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