Nano Intelligence Biomedical Engineering Corporation (NIBEC) has acquired a patent regarding a protein that can strengthen regenerative potentials in stem cells, the company said Thursday.

The patented technology, developed jointly with Seoul National University, relates to a cell-permeable fusion protein for stem cell regeneration. The protein’s functions include promoting stem cell differentiation, inhibiting apoptosis, and maintaining the role of stem cells.

Conventional proteins that enhance the regeneration ability of stem cells cannot penetrate cells due to their substantial molecular weight. Therefore, proteins have to enter the cells in the form of DNA. However, the use of a reagent that gives an electric shock or a hole in the cell membrane can have toxic effects. Such dangers have raised demand for a safer method.

“By transferring the fusion protein that binds the cell permeable peptide into the stem cell, we have managed to improve the adaptability of the transplanted cell,” a company official said. “Those effects have increased the possibility of our protein becoming an effective therapeutic agent.”

The company’s technology is now the only one that can differentiate stem cells using peptides and applies to various fields such as anticancer and immunotherapy fields as it is possible to transfer proteins with other functions into the cells, he added.

The company expects that the patent will help research and development of stem cell regenerative medicine.