Unmet Need
An estimated 250,000 peripheral nerve injuries occur annually in the US alone, which accounts for 42% of the global burden. Peripheral nerve injury (PNI) can occur from trauma, surgical complications, medication, toxins, and diet. Severe peripheral nerve injury is customarily treated with nerve autograft, yet only about half of patients achieve satisfactory motor recovery, with even less (42.6%), experiencing satisfactory sensory recovery. Additionally, autologous nerve grafting often results in comorbidities at the donor site. Current strategies for treating PNIs have many shortcomings and need to be improved to increase rate of successful recovery.
Technology Overview
Johns Hopkins researchers have shown that increased expression of monocarboxylate transporter (MCT1) in macrophages improves peripheral nerve regeneration after injury in mice. Furthermore, they have demonstrate that the injection of bone marrow-derived macrophages in MCT1-deficient mice can improve nerve recovery. These findings suggest that engineered macrophages may pose as potential cell-therapies for PNIs and potentially other peripheral nerve disorders.
Stage of Development
Technology is under development and pre-clinical data is available.
Publication
Manuscript submitted.
