This research project pursues a new approach to improve the treatment of vascular diseases which can lead, for example, to heart attacks. The process does not involve the transplantation of stem cells but the activation of already existing stem cells.
Background
Ischemia is the inadequate supply of blood to an organ. As a result the affected organ suffers from a lack of oxygen and nutrients and can die. If the heart muscle is affected, it can lead to a heart attack. If arms and legs are affected, it leads to a condition known as arterial occlusion.
To treat these diseases, different approaches have been suggested including the idea of helping new blood vessels to grow by stem cell transplantation. Such an approach is fraught with obstacles, such as tissue rejection. Also, the appropriate stem cells are difficult to retrieve and they don’t multiply easily in the laboratory.
Aim
This research project pursues a new approach. Instead of treating damaged tissue through transplantation, the researchers are trying to stimulate the organ’s own stem cells to divide. Hence the name cell free therapy. The researchers are focusing on Endothelial Progenitor Cells (EPC) because these cells play an important role in tissue regeneration. The researchers will investigate which resource is best suited to mobilise these EPC cells – perhaps the blood of healthy donors or umbilical cord blood.
Significance
If this project is successful, the next logical step would be a clinical trial. In Switzerland alone, hundred of thousands of patients could potentially benefit – patients suffering from a heart attack, stroke or arteriosclerosis.
Original title: Chemically-defined cell free medium: a novel therapeutic strategy to induce regeneration of ischemic tissues
Grant: CHF 276’064.-
Duration: 36 months
Project leader
- Dr. Stefano Di Santo, Universitätsklinik für Neurochirurgie, Inselspital Bern
- Prof. Hans Rudolf Widmer, Universitätsklinik für Neurochirurgie, Inselspital Bern
- Dr. Robert Hans Andres, Universitätsklinik für Neurochirurgie, Inselspital Bern