The Tissue #7: Recommendations from one scientist to another

FDA approves first MSC therapy, woven PCL hip implant moves toward phase I clinical trial, iPSC treatment for Parkinson's disease

Hello enthusiasts for living materials of all sorts,

Sometimes it feels silly to write this blog when so much is happening everywhere all the time. But scientific research isn’t conducted in a vacuum. For better and for worse, the process of systematically understanding the world in which we live rides the tumultuous waves of life just like the rest of us.

The research we cover on Fleshy Futures is routinely conducted in response to the ever shifting needs of our living world, and more accurately, to the needs of the many real people living in it. Those people need protection from viruses old and new, cures for diseases common and rare, restoration from injuries small and large, and relief from pains acute and chronic. Those people span a vast range of ages, ethnicities, gender/sexual identities, and cultures. They make and are subject to a variety of lifestyle choices. They are genetically and epigenetically predisposed to different conditions. They all require unique care for more reasons than I could ever list here.

As scientists, we ask a lot of questions about our unique, complicated, messy bodies in order to better understand how they operate the way they do. Our ability to answer those questions is critically driven by policy initiatives and funding opportunities.

As we watch the future of health and science policy in the U.S. unfold, I want to say this: A healthy scientific ecosystem works to answer questions of all kinds for people of all identities in order to effectively unravel the complexities of our biology. Unfortunately, attempts to suppress, censor, or erase rigorous, well-designed research only serve to suppress, censor, and erase the needs of real people.

On the bright side, I do think people are innately interested in feeling well and being healthy, so perhaps there’s still common ground around which we can rally to better fund and regulate meaningful, diverse scientific research.

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At the end of last year I published a story I’ve wanted to share for a while, a story about everything I started this blog to cover in the first place: interesting scientists powering innovative solutions for the betterment of both people and our planet. It’s also a little bit of a nerdy story about bugs and proteins and, oddly enough, supply chains. It has it all!

I asked each of the scientists I interviewed in that story what they would recommend to you, be it a book, movie, place to visit, hobby, philosophy, state of mind, you name it. All these recommendations are being meticulously catalogued on the Fleshy Futures “Recommendations Corner” page, and I do hope you check them out next time you’re looking for something new.

Do you have anything you’d like to recommend to me and your fellow readers? Drop it in the comments!

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Notable Headlines

1. Genetically engineered pig kidneys transplanted in two additional patients

   We covered the first two people who received genetically-engineered pig kidneys in great detail in Tissue #2. The third person to receive a genetically-modified pig kidney, 52-year-old Towana Looney, underwent her operation at NYU Langone on November 24th, 2024. On January 24th, after two months, she became the longest-surviving pig organ recipient. A possible reason why: her Revivicor pig kidney has more genetic edits than previous iterations. On January 25th, the fourth patient, 66-year old Tim Andrews, received an eGenesis-made kidney at Massachusetts General Hospital. As of publication, he remains alive and out of the hospital.

2. FDA approves first mesenchymal stromal cell therapy
   On December 18th, 2024 Australian company Mesoblast Limited received FDA-approval for RYONCIL, their allogeneic bone-marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) therapy for the treatment of patients who develop steroid-refractory acute graft versus host disease. According to Mesoblast Limited’s press release: “Annually in the United States approximately 10,000 patients undergo an allogeneic bone marrow transplant, 1,500 of whom are children. Approximately 50% [of those patients] develop acute graft versus host disease, and almost half of those do not respond to steroids.” RYONCIL is delivered via intravenous infusion twice per week for 4 consecutive weeks at a concentration of 2 million cells per kilogram. While MSC therapies are approved for a range of applications in other countries, including the EU, the Republic of Korea, Japan, India, and Iran, this is the first time the FDA has issued their approval for use in the US.

3. FDA greenlights first-in-human phase I trial for absorbable hip implants
   CytexOrtho received an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) from the FDA for their ReNew absorbable hip implant on October 29th, 2024, allowing them to begin clinical trials. Designed for younger, more active patients experiencing hip pain, the ReNew implant may provide an alternative to traditional hip replacements. The implant itself is fabricated using 3D printing and three-dimensional weaving of polycaprolactone filaments and yarns.

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New and Interesting Publications

1. Snail mucus as a natural biological adhesive for wound repair

   I think the title says it all, and I was super excited to read such an interesting and well-done study exploring alternative applications for this incredible bioactive material! Snail mucus is already widely farmed for use in cosmetics, but this see multinational group of researchers applied its unique properties to wound closure and healing.

2. Naturally occurring knee osteoarthritis in horse veterinary patients is linked to gut microbiome dysbiosis
   Published in the spring of 2024, this veterinary study examined the relationship between gut bacteria and knee osteoarthritis in horses with naturally occurring osteoarthritis (because they get that too!). After characterizing the horses’ circulating leukocytes, fecal microbiomes, and synovial fluid cells, the researchers found that specific bacteria were overrepresented in horses with knee osteoarthritis compared to horses without knee osteoarthritis and that this overrepresentation was correlated with changes in synovial extracellular matrix, overall cell motility, and immune cell phenotypes. They’re hoping these findings can be used to better treat osteoarthritis as a multi-tissue disease by specifically targeting these overrepresented bacteria and their related circulating factors.

3. Treating Parkinson’s disease: Autologous induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) therapy moves from preclinical animal study to preliminary clinical trial
   Degeneration of midbrain dopaminergic neurons, which play a critical role in controlling our voluntary movements, is a hallmark of Parkinson’s disease. Unfortunately, existing treatments for Parkinson’s do not reverse the degeneration of these neurons and thus do little to slow the progression of disease. Scientists believe they may be able to use patient-derived fibroblasts, creating a personalized cell replacement therapy, to effectively treat this neuronal degeneration and reverse Parkinson’s progression. The rats in this recently published study received midbrain dopaminergic cells differentiated from iPSCs, and in response, experienced significant improvements in motor function up to 32 weeks following transplantation. While these improvements are profound, there was also marked variability between human donors that resulted in less improvement for some rats. Read on to see how the team plans to deal with this donor heterogeneity, and to find out how their eight participant clinical trial is expected to build on their mountain of safety, efficacy, and quality control data.

Until next time,
Matthew