Targeted Delivery of Cells

About

The Problem: Two of the main forms of cartilage damage are Osteoarthritis (OA) and trauma. While one is caused by a disease the other through injury, the outcome in both cases are lesions in the cartilage. In OA the damage to the cartilage begins at the superficial cartilage layer and gradually involves deeper layers of the articular cartilage, eventually exposing subchondral bone. Regenerative medicine therapies involving reparative cells, such as stem cells or chondrocytes, hold promise in the healing of osteoarthritic lesions. However, it is evident that less than 1% of the cells that are delivered locate appropriately in the target tissues with current techniques using stem cells alone. Therefore, there are currently no established pharmacologic approaches or methodologies to repair damaged cartilage. The Technology Solution: Researchers at the University of Tennessee have developed a technology for the targeted delivery of reparative cells to lesions in the joint cartilage, using monoclonal antibodies to type II collagen (MabCII) as vehicles. Joint cartilage consists mainly of type II collagen (CII) and proteoglycans. In the earliest stages of osteoarthritis there is degradation and loss of the glycoproteins and proteoglycans on the surface of the cartilage that exposes the underlying CII fibrils. As the lesion enlarges, increasingly CII is exposed, and further damage and loss of cells results. Exposed CII fibrils is also found in traumatic cartilage injuries. The technology our researchers developed involves connecting ADSC cells or chondrocytes to the antibodies (MabCII) that target the exposed CII fibrils at the site of cartilage damage. This results in a matrix of interlinked reparative cells right at the lesion in the target tissue, which in turn holds great promise for the healing of osteoarthritic and traumatic cartilage lesions. Since the MabCII antibodies feature multivalent streptavidin linker they can also be charged with fluorescent dye for imaging of superficial cartilage lesions that can’t be detected by traditional endoscopy, and to monitor the progress of the localization of the reparative cells. Features and Benefits: Allows potential treatment as well as diagnosis of OA Ingredients widely available