Reprogramming of body cells opens up new treatment options

Conversion of body cells into other cell types as a new therapeutic approach?

Scientists have developed a chip that helps to heal injuries and even create new nerve tissue. This chip is able to reprogram body cells into other cell types. The new process could lead to a medical breakthrough in the treatment of diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, in which certain cells are increasingly destroyed.

Researchers at Ohio State University have succeeded in reprogramming cells in the body into other cell types with the help of an electronic chip. For example, using it could heal injuries in the future. The experts published the results of their study in the English-language journal "Nature Nanotechnology".

Previously used methods

For example, if the tissue was seriously injured in an accident, it is often attempted to transplant tissue from other parts of the body. Alternatively, it is also possible for tissue to be transplanted by donors. However, there is a risk that such tissue will be rejected by the body of the injured person. There is also the possibility to grow new body cells in a laboratory, in order to later transplant them to damaged tissue. However, this turns out to be very complicated, say the doctors.

What is reprogramming?

Ohio State University experts wanted to make the cells of the body transform into other types of cells. So then damaged tissue can be replaced. This procedure is also referred to as reprogramming. In experiments on mice, the scientists were able to reprogram the skin cells from living mice to nerve tissue. Skin cells could also be stimulated to convert into vascular cells. This allowed the doctors to heal damaged muscles. The method used is referred to as so-called tissue nano-transfection (tissue-nano-transfection or TNT).

What is a transfection?

The properties of cells can be changed when certain DNA fragments (reprogramming factors) are introduced. This introduction of genes is also referred to by professionals and physicians as transfection. A tissue nano-transfection could be used in the future to gently and effectively insert so-called reprogramming factors into body cells of a living organism.

Success in experiments on mice

In experiments on mice, a slight electrical voltage was applied to the skin of the animals. Then a small chip was put on the skin from the outside. This was wetted with a certain solution. A brief electric pulse then made the walls of the skin cells permeable. It created for a moment very small openings in the cell walls, which are also referred to as nanochannels. So then the so-called reprogramming factors could get into the cells. This process has been tested on mice and actually works, explains Dr. med. James Lee from Ohio State University.

Side effects from other methods

The new method seems to involve fewer risks than older methods, in which, for example, DNA material was introduced into body cells with the help of viruses. Last but not least, there is the risk that unwanted mutations arise in such methods. In another approach, reprogramming factors are introduced into cells by means of electrical voltage. However, this can lead to tissue injury. In contrast, the new TNT method does not cause damage to the tissue and can specifically target the material into the desired cells, the researchers say.

Advantages of the new process

The new procedure takes less than a second and is not invasive, says author Chandan Sen of Ohio State University in a press release. There are already changes after a period of seven days. After just a week, new vessels grew in the legs of mice that had previously broken their blood flow and damaged their tissues, the expert adds. The application possibilities for the new technology are very diverse. A use is not limited to the use on the skin, explain the scientists. The technology can also be used with other tissues in the body or outside the body. This means that damage to internal organs can probably also be treated.

Further research is needed

Further investigations must now show whether the technology can be used successfully in humans. Of course, the treatment must be safe for the patients. Only then can therapy be developed on the basis of technology. For example, new nerve cells could be used to treat Alzheimer's or Parkinson's diseases, the researchers hope. The application to humans could already be checked within the next year. (As)