Bio-sealant therapy may help stabilize the damage caused by cartilage damage: Study

The results of recent animal-based studies suggest that new bio-sealant therapies may help stabilize the damage that causes cartilage destruction and pave the way for future repairs. ..

A study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine was published in Advanced Healthcare Materials.

“Our study shows that with our hydrogel system of hyaluronate, the cartilage degeneration that commonly occurs after an injury and causes joint pain is at least temporarily stopped,” said a professor of orthopedics. Said Dr. Robert Mack, the director of Penn. McKay Orthopedic Institute of Medicine. “In addition to pausing cartilage destruction, this treatment can be applied to present a” sticky “surface to cells, such as stem cells, which are regularly injected into joints to combat damage. I think. This fortified hydrogel actually synergizes with these cells to create a long-term solution. “

Articular cartilage is the tissue that covers the ends of the bones in a joint. It prevents the bones from being painfully worn together, and its density and elasticity allow it to receive more force in human movement.

Unfortunately, this routine yet complex stress causes cartilage to wear easily (especially in some form of injury) and is difficult to replace or re-grow. This means that it is especially important to keep the remaining cartilage strong and stable.

To that end, lead research author Dr. Jay Patel, a former postdoc at the McKay Institute, and now an assistant professor at Emory University, Mack and his team have developed a treatment that uses a modified version of hyaluronic acid. It is naturally produced by the connective tissue of the body-it can be introduced into damaged cartilage sites. They realized that this remedy had to follow two keys to preserving cartilage: strengthening and sealing.

“We often associate this combined approach with the treatment of damaged decks in your backyard,” Patel said. “To strengthen an existing wooden structure, you need something like a wood hardener. Then you can apply a wood sealer to prevent future wear. Similarly, it penetrates and reinforces the pores of the tissue. It was “sealed” by applying the substance and then directing the behavior of the injected stem cells towards the formation of a layer covering the entire structure. “

In a large animal model, researchers introduced biogels into damaged cartilage and showed that it was intertwined with the cartilage matrix structure to stabilize the cartilage. They also showed that it was retained in a communal environment for at least a week. When testing live cartilage in the lab, researchers found that applying hyaluronic acid biogel restores normal activity to chondrocytes, which are cells in cartilage tissue. This meant that the microenvironment around the cell was now strengthened.

Once strengthened, researchers moved to cartilage sealing, preventing further tissue loss at the site of injury from eroding cartilage structure. To that end, the team combined the hyaluronic acid hydrogel system with the injection of mesenchymal stem / stromal cells to promote the formation of a thin “living” barrier on the cartilage surface and protect the cartilage from further wear. ..

When researchers compared the treated and untreated models, the treated model showed a thicker layer of protective tissue that could protect the structure and function of the cartilage.

“This has shown to be an innovative technique and methodology for dealing with the complexity of treating damaged cartilage tissue, which was previously very difficult,” says Patel. “Next, in the near future, we want to transform this technology into larger animal research and clinics.”

These findings led to a translation grant from Pen Health Tech, an interdisciplinary center that combines pen medicine and pen engineering teams to create new medical technologies. In addition, the technology is at the heart of a new company (Forsagen LLC) that spun out of Penn with the support of the Pen Center for Innovation (PCI) Venture Program, seeking to lead the system’s entry into the clinic. I will.

It was co-founded by both Mack and Patel, along with Jason Birdick, a professor of bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania and co-author of the study, and Ana Pered, a doctoral student in bioengineering.

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