Potential of Nanoparticle-Loaded Mesodermal Stem Cells for Treating Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Gwan-woo] Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) announced on the 20th that Professor Tae Ki-yong of the Department of New Materials Engineering and Professor Yang Hee-seok's research team from the Department of Nano-Bio Medical Science at Dankook University have developed a technology to suppress ischemic liver damage using mesenchymal stem cells loaded with biocompatible nanoparticles.

The research team loaded mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which have difficulty surviving in tissues damaged by reactive oxygen species (ROS), with Prussian Blue (PB) nanoparticles that have ROS-decomposing effects, thereby increasing the survival rate of the stem cells and enhancing the release of therapeutic factors.

In various cases such as myocardial infarction, stroke, peripheral artery disease, and organ transplantation, hypoxia occurs due to vascular blockage, and excessive ROS are generated by rapid oxygen supply during ischemia/reperfusion. These ROS cause direct tissue damage and indirect tissue damage through inflammation induction.

Treatment using stem cell delivery to damaged tissues is currently in use and widely researched, but the high oxidative stress caused by inflammation in damaged tissues is transferred to the stem cells, reducing therapeutic effects and limiting efficacy.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) release factors with therapeutic effects and have immunomodulatory capabilities, enabling them to suppress ischemia/reperfusion injury. Therefore, studies have been conducted to deliver MSCs to prevent damage.

However, MSCs show significantly low survival rates in environments with excessive ROS, leading to reduced therapeutic effects.

Prussian Blue (PB) is a biocompatible nanoparticle approved by the FDA as a drug and is also used as an MRI contrast agent and photothermal therapy agent.

PB nanoparticles also exhibit nanozyme characteristics with enzyme-like activities similar to catalase (an enzyme that decomposes hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen) and superoxide dismutase (an enzyme that catalyzes the dismutation of superoxide ions into oxygen and hydrogen peroxide).

The research team loaded PB nanoparticles with ROS-decomposing effects into MSCs via endocytosis, and confirmed that nanozyme-loaded MSCs (PB-MSCs) showed high survival rates and maintained therapeutic factor release properties well in ROS environments.

When applied to a rat model of liver ischemia/reperfusion, nanozyme-loaded MSCs (PB-MSCs) not only reduced liver tissue necrosis compared to regular MSCs but also accelerated liver function recovery.

Professor Tae Ki-yong said, “This research outcome can be applied to improve the survival and therapeutic performance of various cells beyond mesenchymal stem cells, and can be applied not only to ischemia/reperfusion but also to regeneration of various organs and tissues, presenting an important possibility to overall enhance the efficacy of cell therapies for tissue regeneration.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.