Burn healing: gene therapy + stem cells
According to Professor John W. Harmon from Johns Hopkins Medical Research Center (Johns Hopkins Medicine, JHM), who reported the results of the work at the Annual Clinical Conference of the American College of Surgery 2013, for the healing of burns and other injuries, the body uses stem cells that come out of the bone marrow and move to the affected area of the body. There they can differentiate cells that form blood vessels, skin and other tissues needed to repair damage. Directed migration of stem cells is controlled by a protein known as hypoxia-induced factor-1 (HIF-1). This signaling protein was first identified by Professor Harmon's colleagues 15 years ago. An aging organism is characterized by a decrease in the level of HIF-1 and, accordingly, a decrease in the number of stem cells coming out of the bone marrow.
At first, the authors tried to increase the effectiveness of the healing process of various kinds of injuries in mice using gene therapy that increases the level of HIF-1 in the body. To do this, the animals were injected with genetic vectors carrying an improved functional version of the gene encoding this protein. This contributed to the healing of ulcers in mice with simulated diabetes mellitus, but did not help in the treatment of burns.
To enhance the effect, the researchers decided to combine gene therapy with the introduction of stem cells. To do this, they isolated bone marrow from mice, isolated the necessary stem cells from it, multiplied them in the laboratory and injected them back into the same animals.
17 days after the procedure, the group of animals undergoing combination therapy had the most completely healed burns than in other experimental groups. Moreover, combination therapy ensured the formation of more new vessels and, accordingly, better blood supply to the regeneration zone.
According to Harmon, the proposed approach involves the use of the patient's own cells, which reduces the likelihood of developing a rejection reaction. At the same time, gene therapy, which aims to introduce a functional copy of the HIF-1 gene, has already been successfully used to treat patients with acute insufficiency of blood supply to the extremities. All this points to the reality of implementing a combined approach in clinical practice.
The results of the study were presented at the Annual Clinical Conference of the American College of Surgery 2013, held in early October in Washington.
Evgeniya Ryabtseva
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru Based on JHM: Johns Hopkins Medicine News Tips
From the 2013 Annual Clinical Conference of the American College of Surgeons Oct. 6-10, Washington, D.C.14.10.2013