Extracellular Vesicles for the Prevention of Third-Degree Burn Wound Conversion
Abstract
Recent advances in the management of trauma have led to greater survival from battlefield-related injuries in our wounded warriors. Advance in burn-related injuries and, in particular, methods to prevent and/or reduce the inevitable scarring that results from these burn injuries are, however, severely lacking. Burn wounds represent a very serious burden for the injured warrior, which results in functional impairment restricting one s ability to return to service and can have a grave social impact on a veteran s adjustment to civilian life. This proposal is aimed at directly addressing this unmet need. Serious burns quickly develop significant regions of inflammation, which are responsible for much of the tissue damage that occurs. Methods that prevent these changes and can be delivered early (preferably close to the point of injury) will lead to substantial reduction in the morbidity associated with burn injuries. The emergence of stem cell therapy has demonstrated a unique ability to prevent these changes and accelerate wound healing as well as remodel and regenerate damaged tissues in ways not achievable by other means. The investigators in this proposal have been at the forefront in demonstrating the benefit of applying bone marrow-derived stem cells to burn patients. In further work done by our team, we were among the first to demonstrate that small particles released by stem cells, named extracellular vesicles, are the materials responsible for the healing and regenerative effects attributed to stem cells. These stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles have several potential advantages over cells for the treatment of burns and burn scars. Extracellular vesicles are more stable than the stem cells they are derived from and as they cannot replicate they do not carry many of the long-term safety concerns associated with stem cells. Extracellular vesicles are also easily incorporated into established treatments for burn injuries. Being much more stable than stem cells, they can easily be adapted in field settings. This proposal will examine methods by which stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles can best be stored and delivered quickly after burn injury. This proposal holds great promise as a major advance in the treatment of burns by reducing tissue loss following injury, stimulating wound repair, stimulating tissue regeneration, and inhibiting scar formation. The results of these studies will be of great benefit to our wounded warriors and will have a significant impact for the general public afflicted by serious burn injuries.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Mar 10, 2021
- Source ID
- W81XWH2010169
Entities
People
- Evangelos V. Badiavas
Organizations
- United States Army
- University of Miami