Patent for Reprogramming Human Skin Cell

A patent of Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) regarding a method of converting human skin cells into engines of wound healing and tissue regeneration was granted and can provide impact to cell therapies. The therapies can be used on range of serious conditions, including heart attack, diabetes and traumatic injuries.

The granted patent bearing U.S. Patent number 9,290,740, developed by WPI’s Raymond Page, PhD, professor of practice in biomedical engineering, and Tanja Dominko, PhD, DVM, associate professor of biology and biotechnology, is titled "Use of basic fibroblast growth factor in the de-differentiation of animal connective tissue cells," which was issued on March 22, 2016. The technology enables adult human connective tissue fibroblasts (cells from skin or other tissues), which were previously thought to have a very limited lifespan outside of the body, to be cultured and replicated for long periods. It further causes those cells to express genes and proteins typically associated with stem cells, thereby demonstrating that the cells are in a less differentiated state. Notably, this technology works without inserting viruses or foreign genes into the cells.

The study the focus on molecular processes of embryonic development and cell differentiation to see if human cells can be coaxed to regenerate damaged tissues. As Dominko notes in their paper "Our cells have the memory encoded in their DNA of how to create every tissue in the body. But unlike amphibians, humans and other mammals have lost the ability to regenerate as adults. Instead, we heal injuries with scar formation."

Regenerative medicine seeks to reprogram cells to repair the body is one of the most active areas of research and clinical development today. There are many examples of regenerative development projects around the world include inducing skin cells to become contractile cardiac cells to treat heart attack patients; establishing new insulin-producing beta cells to treat diabetes; and growing nerve cells and spinal cord tissues to reverse paralysis.

Source : https://www.news-medical.net/news/20160525/WPI-receives-patent-for-novel-method-of-reprogramming-human-skin-cells.aspx