Disc comfort: gene therapy for chronic back pain
An extracellular vesicle-based gene therapy has repaired damaged intervertebral discs in a mouse model of chronic back pain.
Ohio State University (USA) researchers have developed a novel non-viral gene therapy to treat discogenic back pain, a type of chronic low back pain that results from the degeneration of intervertebral discs. Intervertebral discs function to separate the vertebrae, preventing them from grinding together, and provide a shock-absorbing effect and degeneration of these discs is responsible for approximately 40% of cases of discogenic back pain. Currently there are very few treatment options available and most rely on treating symptomatic pain rather than restoring the structure of the discs.
In this study, the researchers utilized extracellular vesicles (EVs) to deliver the transcription factor FOXF1 to injured intervertebral discs in a mouse model of discogenic back pain. FOXF1 is involved in the development and growth of tissues. Co-senior author of the study, Devina Purmessur Walter, explains its use in the study, stating: “Our concept is recapitulating development: FOXF1 is expressed during development and in healthy tissue, but it decreases with age. We’re basically trying to trick the cells and give them a boost back to their developmental state when they’re growing and at their healthiest.”
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The EVs containing FOXF1 were injected into the damaged intervertebral discs of mice and after 12 weeks, imaging, tissue analysis and mechanical and behavioral tests were conducted to assess the treatment’s effectiveness.
Compared to control groups, mice that received the treatment showed improvements in pain-related symptoms. There were also structural and functional changes to the intervertebral discs of the treated mice, including increased disc height.
Purmessur Wilson elaborated, “We have this unique strategy that’s able to both regenerate tissue and inhibit some symptoms of pain.”
The team plan to test the therapy in animal models of age-related disc degeneration and investigate the effects of other transcription factors. Ohio State has also submitted a patent application based on this non-viral gene therapy.