Revolutionary Procedure Could Turn the Page on Stem Cells

<strong>Revolutionary</strong> <strong>Procedure</strong> <strong>Could</strong> <strong>Turn</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Page</strong> on Stem Cells
Doctors who enroll in stem cell <strong>the</strong>rapy training courses through <strong>the</strong> Advanced Regenerative Medicine Institute (ARMI)
learn cutting-edge techniques for using autologous stem cells to treat orthopedic injuries. ARMI also train doctors to use
PRP <strong>the</strong>rapy for both aes<strong>the</strong>tic and orthopedic applications. That being said, ARMI’s training could look radically
different in <strong>the</strong> future if a revolutionary procedure developed at <strong>the</strong> Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center ever
makes it past clinical trials to enter <strong>the</strong> market.
This new procedure would absolutely turn <strong>the</strong> page on stem cell <strong>the</strong>rapy as we know it. Though it sounds too good to be
true, <strong>the</strong> procedure could be <strong>the</strong> holy grail stem cell researchers have been looking for for decades. The most exciting
part of <strong>the</strong> whole thing is <strong>the</strong> simplicity of <strong>the</strong> technique. Let us hope simplicity is not <strong>the</strong> procedure’s downfall.
Combining Stem Cells and Nanotechnology
Being able to manipulate stem cells to transform <strong>the</strong>mselves into o<strong>the</strong>r forms of tissue at will has been <strong>the</strong> primary goal
of stem cell research all along. As <strong>the</strong> thinking goes, we can grow any kind of tissue we need if we can learn to master
<strong>the</strong> genetic programming that makes stem cells do what <strong>the</strong>y do. So far, that mastery has been elusive. But researchers
at Ohio State University may have found <strong>the</strong> key.
They combined what we currently know about adult stem cells with <strong>the</strong> latest in nanotechnology to create a small
device that can ostensibly reprogram living adult cells so that <strong>the</strong>y grow into o<strong>the</strong>r kinds of tissue. The device is based on
a principle known as tissue nanotransfection.

In order to conduct <strong>the</strong> procedure, researchers need two things: patient DNA or RNA and <strong>the</strong> device itself, which looks
like a small plastic chip. The biologic material is harvested from <strong>the</strong> patient being treated, <strong>the</strong>n processed and loaded
onto <strong>the</strong> chip. The chip is <strong>the</strong>n placed at <strong>the</strong> site of <strong>the</strong> injury. Researchers apply an electric current that immediately
sends <strong>the</strong> biologic material through <strong>the</strong> chip and into <strong>the</strong> tissue underneath. The nanotransfection process takes less
than a second.
The injected DNA or RNA material <strong>the</strong>n immediately goes to work to reprogram <strong>the</strong> stem cells it comes in contact with.
Those stem cells will grow into whatever kind of tissue was programmed into <strong>the</strong>m by way of <strong>the</strong> DNA or RNA.
Success in Laboratory Mice
Researchers have yet to test <strong>the</strong> procedure on human subjects. However, <strong>the</strong>y have tested it on laboratory mice with
remarkable success. A video produced by <strong>the</strong> researchers shows one particular mouse with significant damage to one of
its legs. Scans showed that underneath <strong>the</strong> surface, <strong>the</strong>re was very little blood flow to <strong>the</strong> injury site, thus inhibiting
healing. After treatment, blood flow was restored and <strong>the</strong> leg healed on its own without any pharmacological
intervention.
In ano<strong>the</strong>r experiment, researchers were able to reprogram skin cells to grow into brain cells. The new cells were
transplanted into <strong>the</strong> brain of a laboratory mice with blocked middle cerebral arteries. Essentially, <strong>the</strong> mice had all
suffered a stroke. Their brains were restored to normal function within a matter of weeks.
To say this breakthrough is exciting does not truly convey <strong>the</strong> importance of what we’re talking about here. If this new
reprogramming procedure proves effective in human patients, we could be on <strong>the</strong> verge of a set of treatments that
would completely eliminate <strong>the</strong> need for pharmaceutical <strong>the</strong>rapies, surgeries, and o<strong>the</strong>r procedures. Hopefully, we will
be adding <strong>the</strong> technique to our core set of stem cell training courses at some point in <strong>the</strong> future. Wouldn’t that be
incredible?
Sources:
Medical News Today – http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318841.php