USC: $2.5 Million for Translational Osteoarthritis Research

Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) is one of four institutions to receive a generous grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) for translational research projects. The $2.5 million grant will go towards developing osteoarthritis therapies.

According to the December 21, 2016 news release, “Grant recipient Denis Evseenko, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of orthopaedic surgery, and stem cell biology and regenerative medicine, is working toward this therapy by using pluripotent stem cells to regenerate cartilage…Evseenko proposes a unique approach to storing pluripotent stem cell-derived chondrocytes, which are the cells that can become cartilage, and implanting those chondrocytes into the joint…”

“Bridging the gap between scientific innovation and clinical application is critical for our mission to provide the best quality of patient care, ” said Jay Lieberman, M.D., professor and chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Keck School of Medicine of USC. “We are delighted for Denis and are eagerly anticipating his contributions made possible through CIRM’s support.”

As indicated in the news release, “CIRM, the California agency charged with dispensing $3 billion in voter-approved dollars to researchers throughout the state, accelerates stem cell treatments for patients with urgent medical needs without a current solution. This grant is part of CIRM’s Translational Award program, which supports the most promising scientific projects with the potential for human clinical trials. In addition to the Keck School, this year’s recipients also include two biotech institutes studying Alzheimer’s disease and osteonecrosis, and one other academic medical center researching pediatric therapies for sickle cell disease.”

“CIRM has made a wise investment in Denis and his research. He’s an outstanding young scientist, developing innovative approaches to bridge the gap between basic understanding and clinical application. Developing new approaches will be essential to combat osteoarthritis, a prevalent disabling disease, ” said Andy McMahon, Ph.D., FRS, professor and chair of the Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine.

Dr. Evseenko told OTW, “In the grant we proposed a unique approach to cartilage regeneration based upon our recent findings and the development of an essential model to test this and subsequent therapeutic modalities. First, we will use a highly purified population of pluripotent stem cell (PSC)-derived chondrocytes. Second, we will maintain these cells in bioreactor settings as aggregates cultured in the presence of cytokines to delay terminal differentiation in xenogen-free environment. This cocktail of cytokines has been previously described by our group; it maintains PSC-derived chondrocytes in a highly viable, undifferentiated stage for up to 60 days. Third, we will use advanced proprietary cryopreservation strategies for banking of PSC-derived chondrocytes. The objective is to make large quantitates of cryopreserved chondrocytes readily available as an “off-the-shelf” product. Finally, we will use a pre-clincal model of focal cartilage injury that is capable of engrafting human cells for functional assessment of cryorecovered PSC-derived chondrocytes.”

“In the next six months we expect generation and cryopreservation of the large quantities (billions) of PSC-derived chondrocytes for subsequent in vivo testing.”