Porous Anti-arthritis Gel

Cryogel with stem cells cured mice of arthritis

Georgy Golovanov, Hi-tech+

Osteoarthritis causes severe pain and discomfort, and there is no treatment for this disease, except for complete joint replacement. Chinese scientists suggest regenerating tissues using stem cells. Using the example of mice, they demonstrated how the cryogel they created increases the effectiveness of this method.

Article by Zhang et al. Implanted 3D gelatin microcryogel enables low-dose cell therapy for osteoarthritis by preserving the viability and function of umbilical cord MSCs published in Chemical Engineering Journal – VM.

As in many other areas of regenerative medicine, in the case of osteoarthritis, stem cells are able to restore the affected tissues. Unfortunately, it's not enough just to inject them into a sore joint and wait for them to do their job. If the dosage is too high, side effects such as redness, swelling and scarring will occur, and if it is too low, the effectiveness of therapy will be reduced.

Scientists from Huazhong University of Science and Technology and Wuhan General Hospital believe that they have discovered the golden mean with the help of a biocompatible framework. This cryogel is similar to a sponge and is made of gelatin at temperatures below zero, according to a press release from Wuhan Union Hospital. It consists of tiny, interconnected pores that can be filled with some particles. For example, mesenchymal stem cells obtained from the umbilical cord.

After injecting the drug into the knees of mice with osteoarthritis, the researchers observed the changes. They noticed that the cryogel framework formed the necessary structure to support the stem cells and held the stem cells in place for much longer, helping them to gradually have a restorative effect. The pain from the inflammation decreased, and the regenerative effect continued, even after there were no stem cells left.

According to scientists, this technology reduces the required dosage of stem cells by 90%, which allows you to avoid side effects, but to cure the joints of mice.

In the future, the researchers plan to conduct experiments on primates, and then proceed to tests on people with osteoarthritis.

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