Connecticut’s $100-million investment in stem cell research could be on the verge of one of its biggest breakthroughs yet. Caroline Dealy, PhD, associate professor of oral rehabilitation, biomaterials, and skeletal development at the University of Connecticut Health Center, and former colleague Robert Kosher, PhD, have developed a technique that converts human embryonic stem cells into cartilage cells. The advance is making waves in the scientific community because it could eventually lead to a therapeutic remedy to osteoarthritis, which affects millions of people.

Dealy’s research centers on converting human embryonic stem cells, which have the ability to become any cell type in the body, into cartilage cells. Researchers have tried to engineer replacement cartilage tissue using various techniques, Dealy says, but most are costly and may not provide a long-term fix. Using stem cells to repair damaged cartilage is seen as an ideal method because the cells have an unlimited capacity for self renewal. To use them, however, Dealy and Kosher, a retired UConn Health Center professor, had to develop a technique that replicates the signals and conditions that cause stem cells to differentiate into articular chondrocytes — cells that make up cartilage present at the surface of joints. They’ve done that successfully in a petri dish, and their patented method was recently published in the Journal of Cellular Physiology.

The next step is to determine if the cells can repair damaged cartilage in a living joint. Dealy is in the middle of a proof-of-concept experiment in which she will inject the cells into the joints of mice with osteoarthritis to see if they have a healing affect. In the meantime, Dealy’s work has led to the birth of the bioscience start-up Chondrogenics, Inc., to advance the research and eventually commercialize the technology. Officials caution that a potential treatment is years away and still must overcome many hurdles. “It’s early-stage science, so it’s a highly risky investment because a lot of this kind of research doesn’t pay off,” says Mark Van Allen, president of the UConn R&D Corp., a for-profit organization that creates new business start-ups — including Chondrogenics — based on technologies developed by UConn faculty and staff.

Source: Hartford Business

Posted July 28th, 2010 under Tech Transfer

Write a comment