Traumatized Muscle Offers Clues to Cell Repair and Regeneration
BY LAUREN UZDIENSKI, NOVEMBER 3, 2008
A study published this month in JBJS identifies progenitor cells in traumatized human tissue - which could lead to new options in tissue engineering.
The authors point out that while there are multiple sources of progenitor cells (such as bone marrow, trabecular bone, adipose tissue, umbilical cord blood and synovial tissue), these may not be available in the case of an acute traumatic injury. The goal of the study was to determine whether traumatized tissue could be a source for progenitor cells, and further, whether the cells could differentiate into osteoblasts, adipocytes and chondrocytes on appropriate induction in vitro.
Participating patients had sustained traumatic extremity injury during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom and had been relocated to Walter Reed Army Medical Center three to seven days following injury. There, the wounds were debrided and irrigated. Once only healthy tissue remained, cells were harvested from the injury sites and cultured.
From the cultures, the authors determined that the cells contained markers characteristic of mesenchymal stem cells. Additionally, these cells, on appropriate induction, showed adipogenic, osteogenic and chondrogenic potential. These are promising results, though the authors note that it's not known precisely how these progenitor cells came to be in the damaged tissue - it's possible the cells are always in the tissue in a "quiescent" state, or that they migrated from the bone marrow as part of a wound-healing response. The extent of the differences in gene expression between the damaged-tissue progenitor cells and mesenchymal stem cells is also not known However, even as more research is needed, this study may be the "first to describe and characterize [progenitor cells in traumatized muscle] in human tissues," putting forth what could be a powerful autologous option for patients suffering traumatic injury.
