A new scientific study has developed a new injectable therapy capable of reversing cerebral palsy and repairing tissue from severe spinal cord injuries due to major trauma such as car accidents, falls, sports accidents, gunshot wounds and various diseases.
This work has been carried out by researchers at Northwestern University.
In this regard, it is a new injectable therapy that forms nanofibers with two different bioactive signals. These communicate with the cells to initiate the repair of the injured spinal cord, which was tested in mice with paralysis.
Experts say the key to this new treatment lies in tuning the movement of the molecules so that they can find and properly activate the constantly moving cell receptors.
How a new therapy that could reverse severe spinal cord damage works
As the scientists explain this new injected therapy is delivered as a liquid that instantly gels into a complex network of nanofibers that mimic the extracellular matrix of the spinal cord.
As Samuel I. Stupp, when three things happen, such as matching the structure of the matrix, mimicking the movement of biological molecules, and incorporating signals for receptors, the synthetic materials can communicate with the cells.
Thus, once the molecules are connected to the receptors, those in motion trigger two cascading signals. These are critical for spinal cord repair.
For example, one of the signals causes the long tails of spinal cord neurons, called axons, to regenerate.
In this way, like electrical wires, axons send signals between the brain and the rest of the body. Therefore, cutting or damaging axons can lead to loss of sensation in the body or even paralysis.
Experts point out that the second signal is what helps neurons survive after an injury. This is because it causes other cell types to proliferate.
This promotes the regrowth of lost blood vessels that nourish neurons and cells critical for tissue repair.
New therapy induces myelin rebuilding
The scientists who conducted the research highlight the option that the therapy induces myelin to rebuild around the axons. This reduces glial scarring. This acts as a physical barrier that prevents the spinal cord from healing.
“The signals used in the study mimic the natural proteins that are needed to induce the desired biological responses. However, the proteins have extremely short half-lives and are expensive to produce,” said Zaida Alvarez.
She is the first author of the study, who assured that “our synthetic signals are short, modified peptides.” However, she stresses that “when bound by thousands, they will survive for weeks to provide bioactivity. The end result is a therapy that is less expensive to produce and lasts much longer.”
“The key innovation in this new research, which has never been done before, is to control the collective movement of more than 100,000 molecules within the nanofibers of the injected therapy, as receptors on neurons and other cells are constantly moving,” stated scientist Stupp.
He further noted that “by making the molecules move, ‘dance’ or even temporarily ‘jump’ out of these structures, known as supramolecular polymers, they can connect more effectively with the receptors.”
Finally, the study evidenced that adjusting the movement of molecules within the nanofiber network to make them more agile had better therapeutic efficacy in paralyzed mice.
Research results
We will now detail the results of the research process. On the one hand, the scientists administered a single injection to the tissues surrounding the spinal cord of paralyzed mice.
In this way it was achieved that only four weeks later the animals had regained the ability to walk.
As they say, this was the first study in which the researchers controlled the collective movement of the molecules. All this through changes in the chemical structure to increase therapeutic efficacy.
“Our research aims to find a therapy that can prevent people from becoming paralyzed after a trauma or serious illness”. So assured study director Stupp.
He further emphasized that for decades, this has been a major challenge for scientists. “This is because the central nervous system of our body, which includes the brain and spinal cord, does not have any significant capacity to repair itself after an injury or after the onset of a degenerative disease”.
Pioneering research that has yielded encouraging results.
