Osteoinductive, osteogenic and angioinductive potential of intramuscular injected genetically modified human umbilical cord perivascular cells

The loss of bone is a massive burden on the health care system and severely impacts the quality of life of several hundred million people. The need for alternative strategies to replace or regenerate bone tissue is overwhelming. We are proposing a completely new approach to the engineering of bone using a “cocktail” of genetically modified human umbilical cord perivascular cells (HUCPVCs) that can be produced in vast numbers, stored in liquid nitrogen so that they could be ready for therapeutic purposes. The HUCPVC technology represents the core IP of our industrial partner, Tissue Regeneration Therapeutics Inc. The intern will conduct in vivo experiments to determine the capacity of genetically modified HUCPVCs to form bone, induce the formation of new vasculature and induce bone formation by the host cells when implanted in an area in where bone doesn’t normally grow. This cell-based application has potential impact on enhancing bone and wound healing.

Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Bernhard Ganss

Student:

Catalina Estrada-Vallejo

Partner:

Tissue Regeneration Therapeutics Inc.

Discipline:

Dentistry

Sector:

Life sciences

University:

University of Toronto