Optimal Polymer encapsulated Tissue transport for Regenerative Applications, Cell therapy and Transplant (OPTRACT)

 

Regenerative medicine applications of cell based therapies use stem cells, progenitors and adult cells to restore, regenerate, repair, rejuvenate, replace, lost or dysfunctional or damaged cells, thereby fixing the lost functions of tissues and organs.  

Cells whether they are from autologous or allogenic sources, when derived from tissue/organ of human origin, those tissues when harvested from the patient/subject should be transported to a laboratory for processing and during the logistics, the maintenance of integrity of the tissues at appropriate temperature and environment is very vital, so that the cells retain their native physiological characteristics, enable them function as optimal source of regenerative therapies, with good viability, maintenance of phenotype and functional capability for expected clinical outcome, as they after in vivo transplantation.

The inter-disciplinary team of scientists and clinicians have used several cocktails and polymer scaffolds to accomplish the following feat:

1.  The corneal endothelial tissue, supposed to be one of the most fragile tissues in the human body could be transported without cold chain preservation under varying climatic conditions, one of the first in the world report: Indian J Ophthalmol. 2014 Feb; 62(2): 130–135. doi: 10.4103/0301-4738.116457 ; these cells thus transported were subsequently used for transplantation to corneal endothelial disease such as bullous keratopathy affected patients: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC
5840311/.

2. Cartilage Tissue for deriving chondrocytes, which are further cultured in vitro for using in ACI and MACI cell therapies could be transported using OPTRACT method and after transport, tried in culture, yielding hyaline cartilage phenotype: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jor.2022.01.007 – These cartilage tissue derived chondrocytes were cultured employing Enriched with Essentials and Lapped in Scaffold Transplant- suitable Autologous Leveraged Chondrocytes (EELS-TALC)method.

3.  Human buccal epithelial tissues were transported for use in urethral stricture repair were preserved and transported yielding cells of native phenotype: https://doi.org/10.1089/bio.2021.0079 –suitable for in vitro culture and were applied in treatment of male urethral stricture: Buccal epithelium Expanded and Encapsulated in Scaffold-Hybrid Approach to Urethral Stricture (BEES-HAUS)

4.  Efficient human cadaver donor corneal transport with better preservation of corneal endothelial density could be accomplished, which will help save vision of millions of patients throughout the world, waiting for corneal transplantation by improving the logistics conditions, yielding better quality of corneas for transplant, which at times are discarded due to difficult transport conditions, especially to remote places: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10529-021-03116-y

5. The OPTRACT method also was used in scaffolding cells, that were subjected to microgravity environment, yielding enhancement of functions of human immune cells and cord blood stem cells in terms of increased nitric oxide secretion, which are weapons for destroying cancer cells and this technology has been awarded a patent in Japan (6757578/2020)

6. Cryopreservation of human stem cells with better viability was documented in OPTRACT method and the technique was granted a Japan patent: 6373241/2018.

Having proven that the above tissues can be satisfactorily transported using the OPTRACT methodology, we are also undertaking research on transportation of other types of cells, tissue and in the future this method could be of help for organ transport as well.

 

The OPTRACT method is an outcome of intense research among inter-disciplinary experts across the world coordinated by GN Corporation, with support from NCRM and JBM Inc, Japan. To send queries please click here