Application of glycotherapeutic agents for mesenchymal stem cell therapies
Simon Cool,
Senior Principal Investigator,
Institute of Medical Biology A*STAR
Adult mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapies are a rapidly evolving pillar of clinical
medicine for treating conditions where body tissue needs to be replaced, repaired, or
regenerated. These stem cells typically reside in our tissues and are administered to
patients in the form of cellular infusions or incorporated into cellular grafts. Because
of their small numbers in body tissues, MSCs are usually surgically isolated from
patients or prospective donors and further processed to achieve the quantities
needed for therapeutic use or cell banking. These processes are time-intensive and
extremely costly with no guarantee that, if needed, the stem cells will be capable of
sufficient ex vivo growth or remain efficacious after their extensive processing.
Growth factor-based additives and natural/synthetic substrates have been trialled to
increase the quantity of stem cells available for clinical use. Unfortunately these
strategies can result in phenoptyic drift and a loss of clinical efficacy. Heparan sulfate
(HS) glycosaminoglycan sugars are an emerging therapeutic option and are showing
promise as additives in media used for the expansion of stem cells with high purity
and potency. Our efforts have centred on controlling interactions between key
growth factors known to be mitogenic to stem cells and their cellular receptors. By
using HS agents to increase particular molecular interactions, our data is showing
the power that HS exerts on the cellular microenvironment and highlights the
considerable potential this strategy has for regenerative medicine.
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