New York University Polytechnic School of Engineering, NYU School of Medicine, and Stanford University are the recipients of a $1.1 million grant that will enable them to aid soldiers and civilians alike. With the funds—provided by the U.S. Veterans Health Administration’s Office of Rehabilitation Research and Development—will be targeted towards a new approach that could harness the “body’s chemical signals to speed bone regeneration and improve repair.”
Alesha B. Castillo, Ph.D. is an assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and orthopedic surgery at New York University. She is working with Philipp Leucht, M.D., an assistant professor in the Departments of Orthopaedic Surgery and Cell Biology at the NYU School of Medicine, and Jill A. Helms, Ph.D., a professor of surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine, in order to focus on one stem-cell recruitment factor found in connective tissue and bone cells—CXCL12 and its receptor.
According to the June 18, 2015 news release, the team hypothesizes that both of these “play key roles in promoting osteogenesis, both in response to injury as well as mechanical stress. Through experiments using genetically modified mice, the team hopes to better define the role of CXCL12 in osteogenesis following mechanical loading as well as its role in bone repair in response to injury. The researchers also plan to explore whether local delivery of CXCL12 can augment the body’s own natural response to bone injury and improve bone repair.”
“If we can mobilize and recruit the body’s own stem cells to aid in repair of serious bone injuries, we would have the basis for a very powerful, next-generation therapy, ” Castillo explained. “Between the aging population, who are prone to major hip fractures, and large numbers of wounded veterans with complex blast injuries, the promise of a non-invasive therapy that can harness the native signaling pathways to help bones heal better is extremely exciting.”
Dr. Castillo told OTW, “We are just beginning this exciting work. Based on our preliminary data, we believe that a stem cell recruitment factor will significantly advance our ability to treat complex injuries with significant tissue deficits in both young and aged bone.”
“The most challenging aspect of conducting this proof-of-principle research is determining the appropriate time to deliver the agent and dosing. We must ensure that when we see positive effects on bone healing, there are no deleterious effects on other tissues or systems.”
