Regenerative Medicine Highlights: April – June 2023
Journal Development Editor, Jasmine Hagan, shares her top papers from the April, May and June issues of Regenerative Medicine.
In the second quarter of 2023, we have continued to publish papers encompassing a wide range of subjects in the field of regenerative medicine, including topics like tissue engineering strategies for craniofacial malformations and microfluidic chips for regenerative medicine.
In this feature, I share some of my top articles from issues four, five and six of Volume 18, providing a snapshot of some of the most exciting work in the field published in Regenerative Medicine.
Prospective donors’ perspectives on hematopoietic cell donation for cell and gene therapy research and development
With the ongoing advancements in cellular therapies, there has been an increasing demand for hematopoietic stem cells from healthy donors. For stem cell donor registries that were established to match patients in need of a stem cell transplant with a suitable donor, the increasing demand poses a challenge and these registries are now having to adapt to provide donor stem cells for the cell and gene therapy industry. This study reported the findings from a survey conducted by Anthony Nolan, a UK-based stem cell donor registry, exploring the willingness of donors to donate their stem cells for research and development. The survey found that 87% of the participants were willing to donate their cells for research and development, 87% were comfortable with Anthony Nolan working with external organizations and 80% of participants were comfortable with the Anthony Nolan receiving payment from these organizations.
One common concern that was raised was over the potential infringement of privacy with the involvement of third parties such as pharmaceutical companies. The participants suggested that this could be resolved through informed consent and transparency throughout the process. The findings from this study could prompt policymakers and stakeholders in the cell and gene therapy industry to establish donation practices that prioritize stem cell donors.
Association of MSCs derived from bone marrow and adipose tissue enhances bone repair in rat calvarial defects
The ability of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to support the repair and regeneration of damaged tissue has been the focus of many studies and trials in the cell and gene therapy industry. In this article, Totoli et al. explored the use of adipose tissue MSCs and bone marrow MSCs for treating bone defects in rats. The cells were injected into calvarial defects at two- and four-weeks post defect creation and bone formation was evaluated two weeks later.
Analyzing the osteogenic potential of the cells using micro-computed tomography, the team found that the combined use of the cells had a synergistic effect, promoting bone repair. Interestingly, they found that it was slightly more advantageous to inject the bone marrow MSCs before the adipose tissue MSCs. These findings may prompt researchers in the industry to explore new approaches to treating bone defects.
Derivation of a clinical decision rule for a bone marrow aspirate concentrate injection in knee osteoarthritis
In this study, Smith et al. sought to develop a clinical decision rule to identify knee osteoarthritis patients who would benefit from a bone marrow aspirate concentrate (BMAC) injection. Currently, the main option for people with knee osteoarthritis who see no improvement in their condition with physical therapy and medicine is a total knee replacement surgery. The procedure is not always effective in patients, highlighting a need for an alternative treatment option. One potential treatment that has emerged is a BMAC injection, which has shown promising results in studies. At the moment, there is no clear indication to determine which patients would benefit from this regenerative treatment. The researchers of the present study set out to investigate the factors that could help predict a successful patient’ response to BMAC six months post-injection.
The study found that individuals with lower pain levels (quantified on a scale of 1-10) and patients with a history of knee surgery with high pain levels were more likely to benefit from a BMAC injection. The researchers highlighted that while further validation is required, a simple clinical decision rule could be utilized to predict positive outcomes of BMAC treatment in patients.
Don’t forget to check out the rest of the articles from the April, May and June issues of Volume 18.
If you have any queries about Regenerative Medicine or are interested in publishing in the journal, please contact Journal Development Editor, Jasmine Hagan ([email protected]).