Vesicles for premature babies
New nanotherapy protects the lungs and brain of premature mice
Tatiana Matveeva, "Scientific Russia"
Canadian scientists have found that tiny particles secreted by umbilical cord cells can prevent the development of chronic lung disease in premature mice. The discovery will help develop therapy for children born prematurely, reports EurekAlert!. The results of the work are published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (Lithopoulos et al., Pulmonary and Neurological Effects of Mesenchymal Stromal Cell Extracellular Vesicles in a Multifactorial Lung Injury Model).
Premature babies have small and weak lungs that cannot provide the growing brain with the right amount of oxygen. And this can lead to disorders in the development of the brain and, as a result, to learning disabilities or problems with walking, hearing and vision. Therefore, children born very prematurely need additional oxygen and artificial ventilation to breathe. Mechanical intervention, in turn, also damages the lungs and leads to a chronic disease – bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD).
Study leader Dr. Bernard Tebo holds a very premature baby in the neonatal intensive care unit at an Ottawa Hospital.
There is no cure for BPD today, but scientists are trying to fix it. Previously, researchers found that umbilical cord cells – mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) – can prevent bronchopulmonary dysplasia in newborn rats.
In this study on mice, scientists have shown that tiny particles secreted by these umbilical cord cells – extracellular vesicles – also prevent the development of BPD. Nanoparticles have an action similar to MSCs, but they are easier to produce, store and dose. Unlike mesenchymal cells, vesicles can cross the blood-brain barrier, meaning they can enter the brain after they enter the bloodstream. In the experiment, some vesicles actually reached the brain, although most of them got into the lungs – and prevented damage to both organs.
Future clinical studies will show whether vesicles also work in the human body. At the moment, the team is preparing to launch phase I clinical trials to test the capabilities and safety of mesenchymal stromal cells for the treatment of premature infants with borderline personality disorder.
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