Blog | HemaCare

Researchers studied the potential harm of carbon nanoparticle absorption but found that lysosome encapsulation may prevent cell-damage from occurring.  

Carbon nanoparticles are very promising tools for use in the delivery of therapeutic agents in the body and for bioimaging applications to monitor drug distribution and efficacy. These particles have been successfully attached to various therapeutic agents including small drug molecules, vaccines, immunotherapeutic agents, and gene therapies. Agents can be delivered directly into cell targets without first being metabolized. However, are there adverse effects that could potentially overshadow these benefits?

Mesenchymal Stem cells (MSCs) derived from mouse muscle tissue and bone marrow were used in an experimental cell therapy for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is an incurable, progressively debilitating muscular-skeletal and cardiac disease caused by a mutation in the dystrophin gene. The encoded dystrophin protein is part of a larger protein complex involved in anchoring the muscle cytoskeleton to components of the extracellular matrix. Loss of dystrophin leads to muscle wasting, and heart disease is a major cause of death in patients with DMD. Therefore, the availability of effective treatments to address cardiac function in people with DMD is vital.

HemaCare Corporation’s latest publication in BioPharm International ^[1] sheds light on a topic that has been preoccupying some of the best minds in cell therapy research; the need to ensure a reliable supply of top-notch starting materials for up-and-coming cell and gene therapies.

Unlike traditional medical treatments, the raw materials for these therapies cannot simply be manufactured. Instead, the supply of starting materials relies on a steady influx of voluntary donors willing to take the time to undertake a fairly complex screening process and donate peripheral blood or bone marrow for altruistic reasons. Nor is a reliable donor pool the only criteria necessary to supplying materials for a successful cellular therapeutic. Starting material quality and consistency ultimately determine the reliable efficacy of the final product.

While there is no cure for acute kidney injury, a research team out of the University of Wisconsin-Madison may be shedding some new light on this condition.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is characterized by a sudden decline in kidney function. This decline is marked by a significant rise in serum creatinine levels that may be accompanied by a reduction in urine output. Some cases of AKI require kidney transplantation or can lead to death. There are a number of causes of AKI, including injury from gadolinium-based contrast agents (nephrogenic systemic fibrosis), rhabdomyolysis, low blood volume, and vasculitis.

A collaborative team of scientists from Denmark, France, the UK, and the US recognized the potential to target CD163 macrophages for a novel approach to cancer immunotherapy.

Macrophages are one of many types of immune system cells of the body, and they function to phagocytize and digest invading substances including bacteria and other microorganisms; they also digest cellular debris and cancer cells. However, there are a subset of macrophages (CD163 macrophages) that actually supports tumor survival and impedes T-cell attack of tumors. Expression of CD163 by these macrophages is associated with a poorer prognosis for a number of human cancers, such as malignant melanoma.