TOP PAGE
ENGLISH
JAPANESE
|
CONNECT WITH US:
Home
About
Services
Contact
Log in
*
Home
Press release
Aug 07, 2021 00:00 JST
Source:
Science and Technology of Advanced Materials
Hydrogel holds life-giving cells longer
An injection made of a hydrogel containing stem cells could treat damaged tissue following a heart attack.
TSUKUBA, Japan, Aug 06, 2021 - (ACN Newswire) - Heart muscle becomes damaged and cardiac function is affected when blood vessels feeding the heart are blocked. A new stem-cell-carrying hydrogel helps mice recover from this condition, called myocardial infarction, by stimulating formation of new blood vessels. Developed by a team of scientists at Kansai University in Japan, the stem cell delivery system is described in the journal Science and Technology of Advanced Materials.
The hydrogel acts as a scaffold that holds the stem cells in place at the site of injection and keeps them alive for longer. The stem cells produce cytokines that stimulate the formation of blood vessels to help the heart recover. The gel is biodegradable, so it eventually dissolves and is removed by the body.
The team used stem cells derived from fat tissue in their application. These so-called 'adipose-derived stem cells' have already been investigated for treating damaged cardiac tissue from reduced blood flow to the heart, known as myocardial ischemia. The idea is that the stem cells will release stimulating factors to regenerate blood vessels once injected into damaged heart tissue. The problem, though, is that they can't be retained or survive in the tissue long enough. In other studies, scientists have found that injecting cell-free biodegradable hydrogels into damaged heart tissue helps partial recovery of heart functions.
Kansai University bioengineer Yuichi Ohya and his colleagues mixed the two techniques together.
Firstly, they developed hydrogel formulas that can hold stem cells in place for longer periods of time at the site of tissue damage. These hydrogels start off as a solution when they are at room temperature. This makes it easy to mix in the stem cells. When the solution is injected into an organ, it warms to body temperature, triggering its transformation into a gel.
One of their hydrogels was especially good at staying in its gel state. It was made with a combination of molecules, called tri-PCG, with acrolyl groups attached to them. The tri-PCG-acryl was then mixed with a polythiol derivative.
The team added adipose-derived stem cells to the hydrogel and observed, both in petri dishes and inside mouse heart tissue, how long the cells lived and what kinds of genes and substances were produced by the cells.
"The stem cells were able to survive in our injectable hydrogel and released molecules that stimulate blood vessel formation, improving heart function and making it effective for treatment of ischemic heart," says Ohya.
The team next plans to test their therapy on larger animals after confirming its safety, and then to conduct clinical studies in humans. They also plan to investigate using their injectable hydrogel to deliver immune cells to treat cancer or in vaccines to protect against viral infections.
Further information
Yuichi Ohya
Kansai University
Email:
yohya@kansai-u.ac.jp
Paper:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14686996.2021.1938212%40tsta20.2021.22.issue-BioJ
About Science and Technology of Advanced Materials Journal
Open access journal STAM publishes outstanding research articles across all aspects of materials science, including functional and structural materials, theoretical analyses, and properties of materials.
https://www.tandfonline.com/STAM
Dr. Yoshikazu Shinohara
STAM Publishing Director
Email:
SHINOHARA.Yoshikazu@nims.go.jp
Press release distributed by ResearchSEA for Science and Technology of Advanced Materials.
Source: Science and Technology of Advanced Materials
Sectors: Science & Nanotech, BioTech
Copyright ©2024 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. A division of Asia Corporate News Network.
Related Press Release
A new spin on materials analysis
April 17 2024 22:00 JST
Kirigami hydrogels rise from cellulose film
April 12 2024 18:00 JST
Sensing structure without touching
February 27 2024 08:00 JST
Nano-sized probes reveal how cellular structure responds to pressure
November 21 2023 07:00 JST
Machine learning techniques improve X-ray materials analysis
November 17 2023 10:00 JST
A bio-inspired twist on robotic handling
November 14 2023 20:00 JST
GPT-4 artificial intelligence shows some competence in chemistry
October 17 2023 08:00 JST
Closing the loop between artificial intelligence and robotic experiments
August 24 2023 09:00 JST
Machine intelligence for designing molecules and reaction pathways
May 24 2023 09:00 JST
Face-down: Gravity's effects on cell movement
May 13 2023 00:00 JST
More Press release >>
Latest Press Release
DOCOMO and NTT Com Jointly Demonstrate Practicality of DOCOMO's New Multi-platform Cloud-rendering Technology
Jul 26, 2024 17:05 JST
TANAKA Precious Metals Provided Award Items and Ceremony Souvenirs for the International Friendly Matches of the Japan Men's National Blind Football Team at the "DAICEL Blind Football Japan Cup 2024 in Osaka" on July 7
Jul 26, 2024 03:00 JST
Eisai and EcoNaviSta Enter into Business Alliance Agreement Aimed at Building a Dementia Ecosystem and Commence Collaboration
Jul 25, 2024 10:30 JST
Hitachi Awarded Largest Contract in Singapore to Supply 450 Lifts at HDB Blocks
Jul 24, 2024 16:27 JST
Hitachi to Announce Capital Reorganization of Air Conditioning Joint Venture
Jul 24, 2024 15:02 JST
Eisai to Present Dual-Acting Lecanemab Three-Year Efficacy and Safety Data and Discuss Long-Term Outcomes of Continued Treatment at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference 2024
Jul 23, 2024 20:23 JST
Toyota Material Handling Japan and Fujitsu launch Japan's first service for evaluating forklift safety in the cloud using AI
Jul 23, 2024 11:26 JST
AEON and CJPT working to resolve logistics industry issues and achieve carbon neutrality at AEON Fukuoka XD
Jul 22, 2024 13:52 JST
Rovanpera and Ogier score another TOYOTA GAZOO Racing one-two
Jul 22, 2024 12:30 JST
Team HRC with Japan Post Wins 45th Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Road Race
Jul 22, 2024 11:33 JST
Honda to Hold its Official e-Motorsports Event, "Honda Racing eMS 2024"
Jul 19, 2024 20:04 JST
MHI America Acquires Three Utility-Scale Solar Power Projects in Pennsylvania, Advancing the Company's Energy Transition Strategy
Jul 19, 2024 19:04 JST
JCB and Worldline unveil a new whitepaper offering European merchants invaluable insights into facilitating seamless payments for international consumers
Jul 19, 2024 12:00 JST
Fujitsu Chosen to Help Solving Social Issues Caused by Fake News
Jul 19, 2024 11:30 JST
Champion REIT holds first 'ESG Week'
Jul 18, 2024 20:14 JST
Lexus LBX Adds a New High Performance Variant, the LBX "MORIZO RR"
Jul 18, 2024 17:25 JST
VitalLife and Bumrungrad International Hospital in Thailand Launch NEC's FonesVisuas Test: First Major Deployment Outside Japan, Revolutionizing Disease Risk Prediction
Jul 18, 2024 15:34 JST
Fujitsu publishes CHRO Roundtable Report 2024, summarizing the challenges and implications of the implementation of data-driven human capital management
Jul 18, 2024 10:44 JST
Fujitsu-sponsored professional golfer Ayaka Furue victorious in the Amundi Evian Championship
Jul 16, 2024 23:26 JST
Neste and Mitsubishi Corporation agree on strategic partnership to develop supply chains for renewable chemicals and plastics
Jul 16, 2024 18:36 JST
More Latest Release >>