How to Engineer a Stronger Immune System

Josh Zimmerman, Ph.D., (right) and Todd McDevitt, Ph.D., discovered a biomaterials hack that can boost cells’ ability to combat inflammation and potentially treat autoimmune diseases. Credit: Elisabeth Fall

A biomaterials hack can boost cells’ ability to combat inflammation and potentially treat autoimmune diseases. With a trick of engineering, scientists at the Gladstone Institutes improved a potential weapon against inflammation and autoimmune disorders. Their work could one day benefit patients who suffer from IBD or organ transplant rejection.

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) reside in bone marrow and have been found to secrete anti-inflammatory proteins that help regulate the immune system. More than 500 clinical trials are trying to use these cells to fight diseases, but so far, many have failed. Scientists think this failure may be because, like a match needs to be sparked to create a flame, MSCs must be triggered by pro-inflammatory proteins to produce their immune-suppressing effects. Some studies have tried soaking MSCs in a bath of pro-inflammatory chemicals before injecting the cells into a patient. However, the effects are short-lived, wearing off after just a few days.

In the new study they engineered tiny sugar-based particles that they loaded with pro-inflammatory proteins and stuck into the middle of clusters of MSCs. The particles slowly delivered the inflammatory trigger to the cells in a steady dose. This method increased the amount of anti-inflammatory proteins produced by the MSCs, enhancing suppression of immune cells. ie cell-protein packets worked better and longer than other treatments.

“No one has successfully used biomaterials to deliver pro-inflammatory signals to control how MSCs affect the immune system,” said first author Josh Zimmerman, PhD, a former graduate student in the McDevitt lab. “Our research suggests bioengineering has real potential to improve the anti-inflammatory and therapeutic abilities of MSCs. The next step is to test this method in a mouse model of autoimmune disease.”
https://gladstone.org/about-us/press-releases/how-engineer-stronger-immune-system