A joint research team of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) and T&R Biofab has developed technology to predict the treatment efficacy of the stem cell therapies for various vascular diseases.

Using fluorescent images to track the initial distribution and movement of endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) in the body, the team has successfully forecasted their therapeutic efficacy at an early stage, KIST said in a news release. 

A joint team of researchers, led by Dr. Kim Kwang-myeong from Theragnosis Research Center at KIST and T&R Biofab, has developed a technology to predict the efficacy of stem cell therapies for vascular diseases. (KIST)
A joint team of researchers, led by Dr. Kim Kwang-myeong from Theragnosis Research Center at KIST and T&R Biofab, has developed a technology to predict the efficacy of stem cell therapies for vascular diseases. (KIST)

The number of high-risk groups of ischemic diseases is rising due to increasing obesity and diabetes resulting from poor eating habits, leading to high blood pressure. Scientists have conducted various researches to develop treatments. 

Still, the test results varied depending on the survival of transplanted cells in the body or the cells moving to the treatment site. It cannot be controlled by EPCs with excellent regenerating function, either. This reduces the result's accuracy, keeping the treatments at the clinical stage instead of moving on to successful commercialization. 

The research team, led by Dr. Kim Kwang-Myeong at KIST and Dr. Moon Sung-hwan of T&R Biofab, combined the fluorescence to EPC's surface to identify through molecular tomography. They then tracked the cells implanted in the thighs of mice. 

Examining with hypodermic ischemia for 28 days, they checked the cell’s in vivo movement and the blood flow restoration using a laser device. The results showed that EPCs were transferred to the tissue where the ischemic disease occurred. 

Besides, the analysis of images of EPC in the early stage of cell therapy showed it was a two-way formatted injection -- one was in a round figure, and the other was the widespread figure. By classifying the experiment group in the two forms, the team observed the therapeutic efficacy and found that round cells moved better, as it was condensed in the first transplanted spot. 

Through this study, the team concluded the treatment should be condensed in a round shape to have high efficacy. 

“The development of this technology to monitor the form of initially transplanted cell therapies and changes in the body will enable early forecast of the curative efficacy in transplanted EPCs,” Dr. Kim said. “The study will be used for developing cell therapies for treating ischemic disease in the future.”

This study was published in the latest issue of the journal, Biomaterials.
 

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