HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--InGeneron, Inc., a clinical stage regenerative medicine and cell therapy company, announced the publication of the first comprehensive analysis providing significant support for the existence of naturally pluripotent stem cells in all organs. Pluripotent stem cells have the ability to become any cell type of the adult body. The newly-released publication, entitled “Perspective: Why and How Ubiquitously Distributed, Vascular-Associated, Pluripotent Stem Cells in the Adult Body (vaPS Cells) Are the Next Generation of Medicine“, has been published in the journal Cells (Cells 10, 2303 (2021): https://doi.org/10.3390/cells10092303).
The publication is based on 20 years of both basic and clinical research, performed primarily at Tulane University (New Orleans, LA, USA), MD Anderson Cancer Center-University of Texas (Houston, TX, USA), Methodist Research Center (Houston, TX, USA), Sanford Health University of South Dakota (Sioux Falls, SD, USA), and at Isar Klinikum (Munich, Germany). Tulane University reported on this new research publication on November 16, 2021: https://news.tulane.edu/pr/decades-research-show-common-stem-cell-could-fuel-advances-regenerative-medicine.
The comprehensive publication provides strong evidence supporting the existence of a small, vascular-associated, pluripotent stem cell type (vaPS cell) that is ubiquitously distributed throughout all organs of the adult body. The publication highlights the existence of these vaPS cells and describes how these cells can be obtained in sufficient numbers from a patient’s own adipose (body fat) tissue collected by mini-liposuction, processed, and reintroduced into the patient at point of care, without need for further culturing or manipulation. In addition, the publication displays a number of case reports and clinical studies of successful treatments with these cells.
The important findings of this publication highlight a new and encouraging generation of medicine with the potential to provide novel treatment options utilizing these cells for many patients for a broad range of indications. Dr. Eckhard Alt, Director of Cardiovascular Research at Tulane University and first author of the publication in Cells explains: “The vaPS cells we found provide in principle the same capabilities as embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. However, instead of following the intrinsic signals that guide the development and differentiation of embryonic cells, the pluripotent differentiation of vaPS cells solely depends on external guidance by signals released from the respective microenvironment where the cells are located.”
Dr. Christoph Schmitz, co-author of the paper and Head of the Department of Anatomy II at Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich explains: “This means the vaPS cells are not limited to following the signals of the adipose tissue they are recovered from, but are able to differentiate into somatic cells of all three germ layers, under the guidance of the new tissue they are placed in.”
Dr. Xiaowen Bai, senior author of the publication states, “A further advantage of regenerative cells isolated from adipose tissue is based on the fact that these cells can be obtained from and re-applied to the same patient at point of care, without the need for further manipulation or culturing,” Dr. Bai says. “In this way, stem cell therapy offers effective, fast and safe potential treatment options to physicians and patients.”
Building on the insights obtained from years of research studying vaPS cells, InGeneron is currently conducting three actively enrolling FDA-approved clinical trials to evaluate its cell therapy platform for the treatment of musculoskeletal indications such as partial thickness rotator cuff tear, wrist osteoarthritis, and facet joint syndrome.
Publication Details
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/cells10092303
Citation: Alt EU, Schmitz C, Bai X. Perspective: Why and How Ubiquitously Distributed, Vascular-Associated, Pluripotent Stem Cells in the Adult Body (vaPS Cells) Are the Next Generation of Medicine. Cells 10, 2303 (2021).
About the Transpose® RT System and Current Clinical Trials
InGeneron’s Transpose® RT cell therapy platform consists of a processing unit, a set of disposables and Matrase®, a proprietary enzyme mixture. The platform allows the isolation of regenerative cells from the patients' own adipose tissue at point-of-care for same-day treatment. The cells are re-administered into the patient’s damaged tissue by injection under ultrasound or fluoroscopic guidance. The entire process takes less than 90 minutes.
The Transpose® RT System is being investigated in several FDA-approved clinical trials for IDE approval and is available in the U.S. for research use only. More information on InGeneron’s actively enrolling clinical trials can be found at www.clinicaltrials.gov under the identifiers NCT03752827, NCT03513731, and NCT03503305.
About InGeneron
InGeneron is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel, safe, and evidence-based cell therapies. We are setting new therapeutic standards by enabling minimally invasive treatments that unlock the healing potential of each patient’s own regenerative cells processed at the point of care for same-day treatment. We currently focus on helping patients impacted by orthopedic conditions and are conducting several clinical trials to validate our technology as a disease-modifying treatment in this space. With over 20 years of research and more than 100 peer reviewed publications, InGeneron is dedicated to developing therapies supported by clinical evidence and approved by the FDA.
