May 6, 2024

New Invention Restores Life-Saving Cells

Donny Hanjaya-Putra and bioengineering doctoral trainee Eva Hall examine stem cells under the microscope. Credit: University of Notre Dame
Donny Hanjaya-Putra, an assistant professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering in the bioengineering graduate program at Notre Dame who directs the laboratory where the study was conducted, described the procedure utilizing an example. “Each stem cell is like a soldier.
The primary test for the new “backpack”- geared up stem cells was whether or not they could form new tissues. Hanjaya-Putra and his team checked damaged cells without “backpacks” and observed that they moved gradually and formed imperfect tissues. When Hanjaya-Putra and his group used “knapsacks,” previously damaged stem cells started forming brand-new blood vessels, both when inserted in artificial polymers and when implanted under the skin of laboratory mice, two environments meant to mimic the conditions of the human body.
It might be years before this new method reaches real health care settings, Hanjaya-Putra described that it has the clearest course of any approach developed so far. Hanjaya-Putras technique utilized only methods and materials currently approved for scientific settings by the FDA.
Donny Hanjaya Putra, assistant professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering, holds a vial of specially crafted nanoparticle “knapsacks.” Credit: University of Notre Dame
Hanjaya-Putra attributed the studys success to a highly interdisciplinary group of scientists. “This was a partnership in between chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, biology, and medication– and I constantly discover that the very best science happens at the crossway of several different fields.”
The studys lead author was previous Notre Dame postdoctoral student Loan Bui, now a professor at the University of Dayton in Ohio; stem cell biologist Laura S. Haneline and former postdoctoral fellow Shanique Edwards from the Indiana University School of Medicine; Notre Dame Bioengineering doctoral students Eva Hall and Laura Alderfer; Notre Dame undergraduates Pietro Sainaghi, Kellen Round and 2021 valedictorian Madeline Owen; Prakash Nallathamby, research study assistant teacher, aerospace and mechanical engineering; and Siyuan Zhang from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.
The researchers hope their method will be utilized to restore cells damaged by other types of pregnancy issues, such as preeclampsia. “Instead of discarding the stem cells,” Hanjaya-Putra stated, “in the future, we hope clinicians will be able to renew them and utilize them to restore the body.
Recommendation: “Engineering bioactive nanoparticles to revitalize vascular progenitor cells” by Loan Bui, Shanique Edwards, Eva Hall, Laura Alderfer, Kellen Round, Madeline Owen, Pietro Sainaghi, Siyuan Zhang, Prakash D. Nallathamby, Laura S. Haneline, and Donny Hanjaya-Putra, 29 June 2022, Communications Biology.DOI: 10.1038/ s42003-022-03578-4.
The research study was moneyed by Notre Dames Advancing Our Vision Initiative in Stem Cell Research, Notre Dames Science of Wellness Initiative, the Indiana Translational and medical Sciences Institute, the American Heart Association, and the National Institutes of Health.

Stem cells are the raw products of the body, the cells from which all other cells with specific jobs are formed.
Nanoparticle “knapsack” repairs damaged stem cells.
Stem cells that might save an infants life and be made use of to deal with illnesses like lymphoma and leukemia are discovered in the umbilical cable of babies. Since of this, lots of brand-new parents decide to preserve (” bank”) the umbilical cord bloods plentiful stem cells for their kid. Given that gestational diabetes destroys stem cells and makes them ineffective, parents are not given this choice in the 6 to 15% of pregnancies who are affected by the illness.
In a study that will be released in the journal Communications Biology, bioengineers at the University of Notre Dame have actually now revealed that a new approach may recover the hurt stem cells and enable them to once again grow brand-new tissues.
Specially-created nanoparticles are the key part of this new method. Each round nanoparticle might save medication and provide it specifically to the stem cells by connecting it to the surface of the cells. These nanoparticles are about 150 nanometers in diameter or about a fourth of the size of a red blood cell. The particles provide the medication gradually as a result of their unique tuning, that makes them very reliable even at really low does.

Because of this, lots of new parents decide to protect (” bank”) the umbilical cable bloods abundant stem cells for their kid. Each round nanoparticle might store medication and deliver it specifically to the stem cells by connecting it to the surface of the cells. The primary test for the brand-new “backpack”- equipped stem cells was whether or not they might form brand-new tissues. When Hanjaya-Putra and his team used “backpacks,” formerly harmed stem cells started forming new blood vessels, both when placed in artificial polymers and when implanted under the skin of lab mice, two environments suggested to mimic the conditions of the human body.
“Instead of disposing of the stem cells,” Hanjaya-Putra stated, “in the future, we hope clinicians will be able to renew them and utilize them to regrow the body.