Kim O’Connor, Ph.D., a professor at Tulane University, has been awarded a three-year $599, 638 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to study ways to improve the survival of mesenchymal stem cells once they have been implanted in patients.
$600K NSF Grant for Stem Cell Survival
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Dr. O’Connor, who is in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, is the principal investigator. She said in the September 21, 2016 news release, “We are delighted to receive the funding for this project, The grant will allow us to look at the survival of stem cells. Seventy-five percent of these cells are lost when implanted. We are using cell culture and a mouse model to mimic stem cell survival in patients. Our goal is to improve the survival rate, and we are very excited about this opportunity.”
The co-principal investigators are Professor Bruce Bunnell, director of the Tulane Center for Stem Cell Research and Regenerative Medicine, and Professor Yao-Zhong Liu in the Tulane Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics. Drs. O’Connor and Bunnell have an ongoing collaboration on this project, while Dr. Liu recently joined the effort.
Dr. O’Connor told OTW, “The survival of stem cells implanted in a patient is an essential first step to achieve an effective stem cell therapy. Currently, 75% of these cells are lost when implanted. This is an important area of stem cell research where my laboratory can make a significant contribution.
“Over the last five years, our research has shown considerable cell-to-cell and patient-to-patient variation in the regenerative properties of human mesenchymal stem cells harvested from bone marrow. The goal of our research is to improve the number of these stem cells that survive implantation and to have more consistent stem cell survival from patient to patient.
“Regenerative therapy with mesenchymal stem cells has several orthopedic applications, including repair of nonunion fractures, spinal fusion and treatment of critical sized bone defects. Greater survival of stem cell implants is expected to repair bone defects faster and more completely. I anticipate that improved stem cell survival will translate clinically into better and more consistent bone repair for patients.”
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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