Small particles for treating big diseases
The Erasmus Medical Center and the pharmaceutical company TiGenix-Takeda collaborated in this research project to investigate the use of stem cell-derived particles for the treatment of immune and age-related diseases.
Nearly everybody knows someone with autoimmune disease, and most of us will suffer some time or later from age-related diseases such as arthritis, diabetes or cardiovascular disease. The ageing of the population that is currently taking place, increases the incidence of age-related diseases and brings an enormous rise in health care costs. Current treatments are only partially able to alleviate the burden of patients and are unable to reverse incurred damage. There is therefore a need for novel treatment.
Stem cells are a promising therapy to repair damaged tissues. However, living stem cells harbor some disadvantages, such as the risk for tumor formation, and it is difficult to deliver stem cells to damaged organs. We generated small particles from stem cells, which can easily travel via the blood stream to diverse organs and tissues. We investigated in a number of models how these stem cell particles interact with cells of the body and whether they can stop and reverse disease progression.
We found that stem cell particles are taken up by white blood cells (immune cells) and by cells from the blood vessel wall. As a result, these cells start to dampen immune responses and strengthen blood vessel walls. Upon injection, the particles are transported via the blood stream to in particular the liver. We observed no effects of the particles on bowel disease and sepsis, but found evidence for effects on liver and kidney disease. These results form a firm basis for further studies to stem cell particle-based therapies.
