Nanochip device could treat painful muscle loss

Technology that can convert skin tissue into blood vessels and nerve cells now shows promise as a treatment for painful muscle damage, a study with rats shows.

Tissue nanotransfection is a minimally invasive nanochip device that can reprogram tissue function by applying a harmless electric spark to deliver specific genes in a fraction of a second.

A new study published in Nature partner journals regenerative medicineTissue nanotransfection-based gene therapy tested as a treatment, with the goal of delivering genes known to be key drivers of muscle repair and regeneration.

Researchers found that muscle function improved when tissue nanotransfections were used as a therapy for seven days following volumetric muscle loss in rats. This is the first study to report that the tissue nanotransfection technique can generate muscle tissue and demonstrates its benefit in addressing volumetric muscle loss.

There is traumatic or surgical loss of volumetric muscle loss skeletal muscle The resulting compromise is in muscle strength and mobility. Unable to regenerate the amount of tissue lost, the affected muscles suffer substantial loss of function, thus compromising quality of life. A 20% reduction in mass can result in a loss of up to 90% in muscle function.

Current clinical treatments for volumetric muscle loss are physical therapy or autologous tissue transfer (using a person’s own tissue), the results of which are promising but call for better treatments.

“We are encouraged that tissue nanotransfection is emerging as a versatile platform technology for gene delivery, gene editing, and in vivo tissue reprogramming,” says Chandan Sen, professor and associate vice president for research at the Indiana University School of Medicine. ” Indiana Center for Regenerative Medicine and Engineering.

“This work proves the potential of tissue nanotransfection in muscle tissue, opening up a new avenue of investigation that should help address painful muscle damage. Importantly, it demonstrates the versatility of the tissue nanotransfection technology platform.” It shows regenerative medicine,

So far, tissue nanotransfection has also been achieved in blood vessel and nervous tissue. Furthermore, recent work has shown that topical tissue nanotransfection can achieve cell-specific gene editing of skin wound tissues to improve wound closure.

Additional co-authors are from Purdue University and Indiana University.

A Department of Defense Discovery Award, the National Institutes of Health, and the Lilly Endowment INCITE (Indiana Collaborative Initiative for Talent Enrichment) funded the work.

Source: Indiana University