Exciting progress continues in the world of stem cell developments. 

1.         AI-Generated Proteins Used In Stem Cell Study

Scientists at the University of Washington School of Medicine have used artificial intelligence (AI) to signal the activity of a significant protein called fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR). Once perfectly triggered the FGFR enabled human stem cells to form new blood vessels. This study proved to be extremely successful in the Lab and the study is one more milestone in regenerative medicine offering hope for repair and renewal of damaged hearts, kidneys and many other organs. 

“We decided to focus on building blood vessels first, but this same technology should work for many other types of tissues. This opens up a new way of studying tissue development and could lead to a new class of medicines for spinal cord injury and other conditions that have no good treatment options today,” said study author Ashish Phal.

These findings were published in the journal Cell (June 10th, 2024).

2.         Ferrari Challenge Driver Marco Pulcini Has A Remarkable Recovery Thanks To Stem Cell Treatment

Ferrari Challenge driver Marco Pulcini achieved a significant recovery from severe knee and shoulder injuries thanks to advanced stem cell therapy that was undertaken at Stemwell in Bogotá, Colombia. After a substantial crash, Pulcini sought an effective treatment to alleviate pain and enable a swift return to racing.  His treatment involved a 3 day personalized plan that included a series of localized stem cell injections in the areas of pain, such as the knee and shoulder joints, as well as injections at a muscular level in the trapezius muscle region. The treatment also involved the intravenous (IV) infusion of stem cells to enhance tissue regeneration and reduce inflammation.

Following the treatment, Pulcini reported substantial improvements. Within a month, he was pain-free and able to resume his training regimen, expressing high satisfaction with the enhanced strength and resilience of his knees and shoulders. 

“I no longer have pain and can already see a substantial improvement in my fitness. It means I’m better able to take on the challenges and live life on my terms, including taking my racing career to the next level,” Pulcini explains.  

His recovery underpins the benefits of stem cell therapy as opposed to having major surgery that involves significant down time.  

3.         Stem Cell Potential To Combat Hearing Loss

This month, on the podcast Beyond Biotech, Simon Chandler, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of U.K. based Rinri Therapeutics, provided an update on regenerative cell therapy for hearing loss.  Simon leads this work, on the back of Professor Marcelo Rivolta’s research in this field of over two decades at the University of Sheffield. 

Hearing loss is a vast global problem. There are currently one and a half billion people in the world with some form of hearing loss (as reported by the World Health Organization. 

“This is estimated to rise to 2.5 billion by 2050. Of those, 500 million have disabling hearing loss; that’s so severe that it affects their day-to-day life and impacts their ability to participate in society. Untreated hearing loss has a direct impact on mental health decline and importantly, it’s been realized it has a direct impact on cognitive decline and particularly dementia,” said Simon Chandler.

Sensorineural hearing loss is a cellular problem, Chandler pointed out. As a result, he believes that the logical solution to restore hearing is to repair this cellular damage with functional cells.

The inner workings of the ear are complex. While surgical procedures to treat abnormalities of the eardrum or the ossicles (bones of the ear) are now routine, the medical devices currently used to treat inner ear (cochlea) dysfunction, hearing aids and cochlear implants, while remarkable, never fully restore hearing even with the best outcomes. Moreover, implants can sometimes cause a loss of residual hearing and, although rare, can pose a risk of meningitis.

Rinri’s lead product is Rincell-1, a first-of-its-kind inner ear cell therapy that hopes to recover sensorineural hearing loss, specifically hearing loss caused by damage to the auditory nerves in the cochlea.

Rincell-1 has successfully performed in all preclinical phases. Rinri Therapeutics are now moving to human clinical trials. 

4.         Stem Cell Update For Diabetes 

Considerable time, money and research has gone into stem cell trials with the potential of curing diabetes, especially in the past decade.  In a clinical trial, published April 30^th, 2024 (with the results just published in the journal Cell Discovery), researchers in China have announced they have successfully treated a patient with late-stage type 2 diabetes using stem cell-derived islet cells transplanted into the liver.  The study demonstrates that autologous stem cell-derived islet tissue restored insulin production and significantly improved blood sugar control in this diabetic patient.

In a separate clinical trial in 2021, it was reported a 64-year-old man had been cured of type 1 diabetes using the same type of treatment. 

Larger clinical trials are planned. This is certainly an area where many researchers are optimistic that pluripotent stem cell-derived islet transplants will be able to provide a functional cure  for many diabetic patients. 

As stated by the pub med paper: PMID: 38751658 

“Stem cell therapy is going to become the most widely used type of therapy in regenerative medicine.”

Article References:

Journal Cell (June 2024 Edition).

Rinri Therapeutics Beyond Biotech Podcast (May 31^st, 2024).

Labiotech.Eu : Stem Cell Therapy A Potential Cure for Hearing Loss. 

Article number: 45 (2024) published April, 30^th, 2024. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41421-024-00662-3#citeas

Pub Med Paper: PMC11092897. Stem Cell Therapy. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11092897/#