{"id":37807,"date":"2019-05-10T16:04:15","date_gmt":"2019-05-10T20:04:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/?p=37807"},"modified":"2021-07-20T08:39:17","modified_gmt":"2021-07-20T12:39:17","slug":"medical-researcher-is-using-our-own-cells-to-cure-disease","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/medical-researcher-is-using-our-own-cells-to-cure-disease\/","title":{"rendered":"Medical researcher is using our own cells to cure disease"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Aging baby boomers are driving the graying of America.<\/p>\n

For the first time in U.S. history, the Census Bureau projects that by 2035 seniors will outnumber children. And as the shift of population grays, a dark cloud of uncertainty over rising healthcare costs looms in the distance.<\/p>\n

Healthcare spending is projected to accelerate over the next decade, and a RAND study found that 60 percent of American adults now live with at least one chronic condition. Chronic diseases, such as asthma, cancer, diabetes and heart disease, cost Georgia approximately $40 billion each year, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Steven Stice<\/a>, GRA Eminent Scholar of Regenerative Medicine at the University of Georgia, believes one solution to combat the cost of chronic disease is producing cell-based therapies\u2014products designed to cure and promote self healing\u2014in much larger quantities and more consistent quality.<\/p>\n

And Stice is not alone.<\/p>\n

Over the next five years, Stice will lead UGA researchers from the College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences\u00a0Regenerative Bioscience Center<\/a>\u00a0as they work to transform the manufacturing of cell-based therapeutics. The UGA team is working closely with a multidisciplinary consortium, called the Center for Cell Manufacturing Technologies, or CMaT, backed by the National Science Foundation.<\/p>\n

The CMaT research consortium, consisting of more than 100 members working in universities, industry and government agencies, is headquartered in Atlanta at Georgia Tech, as part of the\u00a0Marcus Center for Therapeutic Cell Characterization and Manufacturing<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The collaboration between scientists, researchers and manufacturers is centered on discovering lifetime cures for escalating chronic diseases and bringing them to patients. These types of curative therapies have the potential to keep populations healthier longer and reduce the cost of healthcare.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_raw_html el_class=”container”]JTNDaWZyYW1lJTIwd2lkdGglM0QlMjIxMDAlMjUlMjIlMjBoZWlnaHQlM0QlMjI3MDAlMjIlMjBzcmMlM0QlMjJodHRwcyUzQSUyRiUyRnd3dy55b3V0dWJlLmNvbSUyRmVtYmVkJTJGTjZkUEk0RURsZ1UlM0ZyZWwlM0QwJTIyJTIwdGl0bGUlM0QlMjJZb3VUdWJlJTIwdmlkZW8lMjBwbGF5ZXIlMjIlMjBmcmFtZWJvcmRlciUzRCUyMjAlMjIlMjBhbGxvdyUzRCUyMmFjY2VsZXJvbWV0ZXIlM0IlMjBhdXRvcGxheSUzQiUyMGNsaXBib2FyZC13cml0ZSUzQiUyMGVuY3J5cHRlZC1tZWRpYSUzQiUyMGd5cm9zY29wZSUzQiUyMHBpY3R1cmUtaW4tcGljdHVyZSUyMiUyMGFsbG93ZnVsbHNjcmVlbiUzRSUzQyUyRmlmcmFtZSUzRQ==[\/vc_raw_html][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text el_class=”text-container”]<\/p>\n

Living Cell Therapies<\/h2>\n

Cell-based therapies or \u201cliving therapies\u201d have the potential to cure disease, where most drug therapies only treat symptoms.\u00a0 For example, CAR-T cells, short for chimeric antigen receptor T cells, are removed and modified from a patient\u2019s own immune system.\u00a0 Once lab modified, the collected cells are placed back in the body to detect and kill cancer cells.<\/p>\n

But the entire process can take weeks to complete, and that\u2019s not the only obstacle.<\/p>\n

\u201cCAR T-cell therapy is expensive, and treatment is specific to each individual. Today\u2019s process is one patient, one batch,\u201d says Stice.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why CMaT researchers are working to make this effective treatment more efficient, so thousands can benefit from a batch.<\/p>\n

\u201cLarge-scale manufacturing of therapeutic cells has the potential to benefit millions,\u201d says Art Edison<\/a>, GRA Eminent Scholar and professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, genetics and the Institute of Bioinformatics<\/a>. \u201cUltimately, we hope to take our cell technology to production, with a goal of making them readily available to all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Retraining cells<\/h2>\n

Currently, there are three CAR T-cell therapies approved for use in the U.S.. They all treat blood cancers. UGA researchers hope to uncover ways that CAR-T cells can tackle not just blood cancers but also solid tumors, like those present in brain, breast, prostate and ovarian cancers. One path they\u2019re evaluating is blood vessels.<\/p>\n

For a solid tumor to grow, it recruits blood vessels to bring in nutrients and oxygen. Once stimulated by the growth of possibly hundreds of blood vessels, it can rapidly grow bigger. However blood vessel recruits that feed tumors are abnormal and have leaky walls, meaning they have gaps. UGA researchers are investigating ways by which CAR T-cells use these gaps to penetrate and influence tumor growth.<\/p>\n

\u201cTogether with Leidong Mao\u2019s lab<\/a>, we are developing\u00a0in vitro<\/em>\u00a0methods to visualize CAR-T cell killing of brain tumor cells in real time,\u201d said Lohitash Karumbaiah<\/a>, associate professor in UGA\u2019s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, who is working with Stice on a similar approaches to treat brain injuries.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_section css=”.vc_custom_1567710408463{background-color: #e4ddc7 !important;}” el_class=”fw-polygon”][vc_row equal_height=”yes” bg_type=”bg_color”][vc_column width=”1\/2″ css=”.vc_custom_1567710326062{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}” el_class=”polygon-wrapper”][vc_raw_html el_class=”polygon” css=”.vc_custom_1623769035844{background-image: url(https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2021\/06\/StevenStice3-e1623769017854.jpg?id=37813) !important;}”]JTNDJTIxLS1sZWF2ZSUyMHRoaXMlMjBlbXB0eS0tJTNF[\/vc_raw_html][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″ el_class=”polygon-content”][vc_column_text el_class=”testimonial”]“By bonding together around a common goal and CMaT\u2019s cross-institutional investments, we will have a greater impact on the development and the prosperity of each other\u2019s local economies, as well as that of the state of Georgia.”<\/strong><\/em>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text el_class=”credit”]<\/p>\n

\u2013 Steven Stice, Director of Regenerative Bioscience Center<\/p>\n

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Expanding Our Role in Economic Development<\/h2>\n

The CMaT partnership not only offers hope of new therapy and cures, it also provides Georgia an opportunity to become the next big biotech hub for jobs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe state of Georgia is becoming heavily invested in the idea of cell therapeutics and cell manufacturing, and Atlanta is on the cusp of becoming a biotech city,\u201d says Luke Mortensen<\/a>, an assistant professor of regenerative medicine and engineering in CAES and the College of Engineering, who spent three years at Harvard Medical School studying imaging applications in regenerative medicine in the greater Boston area, a biotech capital of the world that hosts over 1,000 biotechnology-related companies.<\/p>\n

UGA, ranked\u00a0No. 1<\/a>\u00a0in bringing new products to the market, is uniquely positioned to fill the need of early stage biotechs.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the next-generation biotech entrepreneur, Georgia holds many advantages\u2014from a rising technological metropolis and a highly trained workforce, to the state\u2019s desire to provide tools and resources\u2014making Georgia a competitive advantage from any new company standpoint,\u201d said Mortensen.<\/p>\n

CMaT is building on UGA\u2019s commitment to fostering innovation and economic development. The partnership shows promise in translating research into products and jobs with industry partnerships ranging from large life science companies, such as ThermoFisher Scientific and Celgene, to small start-ups businesses, like Vicapsys.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy bonding together around a common goal and CMaT\u2019s cross-institutional investments,\u201d Stice says, \u201cwe will have a greater impact on the development and the prosperity of each other\u2019s local economies, as well as that of the state of Georgia.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_section css=”.vc_custom_1567780280331{background-color: #000000 !important;}” el_class=”white research-spotlight”][vc_row el_class=”text-container”][vc_column width=”1\/3″][vc_single_image image=”37808″ img_size=”200×200″ alignment=”right” style=”vc_box_circle_2″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_raw_html css=”.vc_custom_1567780668979{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]JTNDcCUyMGNsYXNzJTNEJTIyc3ViaGVhZGluZyUyMiUzRUFib3V0JTIwdGhlJTIwUmVzZWFyY2hlciUzQyUyRnAlM0U=[\/vc_raw_html][vc_column_text el_class=”white”]<\/p>\n

Steven Stice<\/h3>\n

GRA Eminent Scholar and D.W. Brooks Distinguished Professor
\nCollege of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences
\nDirector, Regenerative Bioscience Center<\/p>\n

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Support Cell Research<\/h2>\n

Give to the Regenerative Bioscience Center<\/p>\n

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