Stem cell therapy helps restore vision, repairs brain damage after stroke with injectable “hydrogel”

Researchers from University of Toronto has lead a study revealing the way an injectable “hydrogel” boosted the transplant of stem cell for aiding brain recovery after followed by a stroke and helped partially reverse blindness in mice. Molly Shoichet and Derek van der Kooy, the study leaders published their papers in the journal Stem Cell Reports.

Stem cell therapy has become a major focus in medical research predominantly tissue regeneration mostly because stem cells have the ability to develop into any other cell type in the body.

A study has been reported on detailing how stem cells therapy could one day be used for treating osteoarthritis and the researchers of the study transformed human embryonic stem cells into cartilage cells, which had been successful in repairing damaged cartilage after being transplanted into the knee joints of rats.

The U of T team also notes of the problems in stem cell transplantation that while it is easy to successfully grow them in a lab dish, they often die or find it difficult to fuse with surrounding tissue once left to their own devices after being transplanted into the body.

Previously researchers developed an injectable gel-like material called hydrogel, consisting of two compounds, methylcellulose and hyaluranon, for tackling this issue. Methylcellulose forms a gel to hold the stem cells together during delivery to the transplant site, while hyaluronan works to make certain the stem cells survive.

Shoichet says, “Through this physical blend of two materials we are getting the best of both worlds.”

The team began testing how the hydrogel may be of advantage to stem cell transplantation for nerve cell damage caused by disease or injury for this study. The researchers discovered that injecting these mice with the hydrogel-encapsulated photoreceptors effectively restored around 15% of their pupillary response which means that their vision had been partially restored.

Then the team encased neural stem and progenitor cells in the hydrogel which then had been injected into the brains of the mice which suffered brain damage because of recent stroke. Researchers observed improvements in motor coordination within weeks of this procedure.

Now they are planning on testing how these hydrogel-encapsulated affects rats suffering from stroke injury.

Schoichet says, “This study goes one step further, showing that the hydrogels do more than just hold stem cells together; they directly promote stem cell survival and integration. This brings stem-cell based therapy closer to reality.”

The team added that since they have demonstrated that hydrogel increases the effectiveness of stem cell transplantation in both the brain and the eyes which are two separate parts of the nervous system, so it has the possibility of boosting effective of such therapy other regions of the body. Once the hydrogel has delivered stem cells to the required destination, it dissolves and the body reabsorbs it in a matter of weeks. They also said that once the hydrogel has delivered stem cells to the required destination, it dissolves and the body reabsorbs it within a matter of weeks.

Injectable hydrogels may not only be valuable for stem cell therapy. Researchers in the past study have revealed the creation of an injectable hydrogel made of polymer-containing nanoparticles and cellulose that has the ability to deliver multiple drugs over long time periods.