Using stem cells for wound healing

Chronic, non-healing, and large wounds are debilitating conditions that burden patients and healthcare systems. Advanced wound care developments involving cell-based therapies are emerging as promising treatment options. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) have many advantages for such use: they can be easily obtained, are easy to culture in vitro to clinical scales, can be cryopreserved without loss of potency, and allogenic MSC can be transplanted without the need for immunosuppression.

Helsepersonell iført smittevernutstyr behandler pasient. Foto

This project will use current clinically approved protocols for autologous bone-marrow derived MSC and examine their effectiveness in selected groups of patients with wound healing problems of the skin and eye. Autologous MSC will be isolated and propagated at the Helse Bergen GMP approved Ex Vivo facility. This will secure a regulatory approved production pipeline from the point of harvesting bone marrow throughout production and delivery to patients in this project's phase I clinical trials. Treatment effect will be measured using sophisticated and innovative methods, developing a future biomarker program for cell therapy of wounds. In addition, preclinical experiments to evaluate the safety and efficacy of allogenic cells will be performed with the long-term aim of using these in clinical trials.

Publications

Jenssen AB, Mohamed-Ahmed S, Kankuri E, Brekke RL, Guttormsen AB, Gjertsen BT, Mustafa K, Almeland SK. Administration Methods of Mesenchymal Stem Cells in the Treatment of Burn Wounds. Eur. Burn J. 2022, 3, 493–516. (Review) https://doi.org/10.3390/ebj3040043

Project participants, Eye wound project

Specialist in Ophthalmology, Department of Ophthalmology, Haukeland University Hospital and

Associate Professor, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Bergen

Medical doctor and Ph.D. candidate, The Bergen Ophthalmogenetic Research Group, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Bergen

Professor, Leader of the Tissue Engineering Research Group and Center of Translational Oral Research (TOR), Department of Clinical Dentistry (IKO), UiB

Professor, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Bergen

Senior Consultant of Haematology at the Department Medicine, Haukeland University Hospital

Chief of Research, Haukeland University Hospital, Helse Bergen Health Trust

Professor, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Bergen and Department of Opthalmology, Haukeland University Hospital

Senior Consultant, Department of Opthalmology, Haukeland University Hospital

Senior Consultant, Department of Opthalmology, Haukeland University Hospital

Senior Consultant, Department of Opthalmology, Haukeland University Hospital

Associate professor, Tissue Engineering Research Group, Department of Clinical Dentistry, UiB

Project participants, Burn wound project

Consultant Plastic Surgeon, Norwegian National Burn Center, Dep. of Plastic, Hand, and Reconstructive Surgery, Haukeland University Hospital

Associate Professor, Head of Research Group for Burn Care and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Clinical Medicine and Center for Medical Education, University of Bergen

Consultant Plastic Surgeon / Head of Burns, Norwegian National Burn Center, Dep. of Plastic, Hand, and Reconstructive Surgery, Haukeland University Hospital