UK researchers have found a way to activate stem cells via remote control to repair bone and cartilage.
Manipulating Stem Cells via Remote-Control
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Secondary#bonerepair#regenerativetechnology
Their work, “Translation of remote control regenerative technologies for bone repair,” was published in the April 17, 2018 edition of Nature.
The authors wrote, “The role of biomechanical stimuli, or mechanotransduction, in normal bone homeostasis and repair is understood to facilitate effective osteogenesis of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in vitro.”
“Mechanotransduction has been integrated into a multitude of in vitro bone tissue engineering strategies and provides an effective means of controlling cell behavior towards therapeutic outcomes. However, the delivery of mechanical stimuli to exogenous MSC populations, post implantation, poses a significant translational hurdle.”
“Here, we describe an innovative bio-magnetic strategy, MICA, where magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) are used to remotely deliver mechanical stimuli to the mechano-receptor, TREK-1, resulting in activation and downstream signaling via an external magnetic array.”
Co-author Alicia El Haj FREng, FRSB, with the Institute for Science and Technology in Medicine at Keele University in Staffordshire, UK told OTW, “We are interested in controlling stem cell behavior so that they can be used safely for orthopedic treatments.”
“This paper focuses on bone repair, but the treatment will have relevance to osteoarthritis or osteoporosis and any degenerative disease of bone and cartilage as a result of a poor mechanical environment. This treatment could provide an injectable solution for orthopedic surgeons and clinicians.”
“The most important result is showing for the first time that we can remotely control cell receptor activation in vivo in a preclinical model. We aim to take this next to a first in man trial.”
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Discussion
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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