Integration and innovation

Early attempts at deliberate clinical application of mesenchymal stem cells without a full understanding of the fundamental molecular mechanisms of these cells has resulted in a certain degree of disillusionment regarding the efficacy of their use for treatment of autoimmune illnesses.

By Elton Alisson

Agência FAPESP – Early attempts at deliberate clinical application of mesenchymal stem cells without a full understanding of the fundamental molecular mechanisms of these cells has resulted in a certain degree of disillusionment regarding the efficacy of their use for treatment of autoimmune illnesses. This is the opinion of Marco Antônio Zago, dean of research at  Universidade de São Paulo (USP) and coordinator of the Cellular Therapy Center (CTC), in Ribeirão Preto.

“There are promises that it will be possible to cure certain illnesses and to enable people with a motor deficiency to walk with the use of stem cells, for example. But this is something that lies far in the future. First, we have to understand the molecular mechanisms surrounding both these cells as well as the pathological ones so that we can in fact be used in cellular therapy,” Zago told Agência FAPESP.

According to him, it was exactly in an attempt to shed light on the mechanisms of these cells and try to master them that the CTC was created. One of the 11 centers selected by FAPESP in 2000 in its first call for proposals under the  Research, Innovation and Dissemination Centers (CEPID) program, the CTC is led by nine head researchers and investigates basic cellular mechanisms, characteristics and cell processing used for therapy, patients affected by the illnesses to be treated and animal models for these illnesses.

When it was selected to receive funding from the program for an 11-year period which will end at the end of 2011, Zago says the CTC brought together a group of researchers that knew each other and worked in similar areas of study but that had never worked together on one project. The Center allowed them to align and increase their scientific production.

“One of the CTC’s victories, and this has been true over the last years, was to intensively increase the quality of the group’s scientific output. The number of citations and collaborative works increased enormously, which shows we became synchronized and began to produce more relevant scientific work,” he affirmed.

One of the team’s projects having the most impact was a study on the treatment of diabetes mellitus type 1 using the patient’s own stem cells. Published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (Jama) in 2007, the study garnered attention in international media.

“If we understand and try to control the molecular mechanisms of these cells, it is possible to apply this knowledge in clinical studies, as seen in that study,” said Zago.

Another advance made by the CTC according to its coordinator was to consolidate a strong base for educating young researchers in the area of cellular therapy in much greater numbers than would ever have been possible had the study groups continued to work in isolated situations like they did before the Center was formed. “Which is a very important victory, considering how far inland and away from the capital city we are located,” he said. 

“The number of post-graduate students that come from abroad to participate in the formation of young researchers also increased greatly. And some of these young researchers later became part of our group,” pointed out Zago.

The diffusion of knowledge

Among the young researchers that went through the CTC graduation program, some are now opening their own technology-based companies. This shows, in Zago’s opinion, another positive contribution of the CEPID program: it introduces the need for researchers to focus on transferring technology to the productive sector.

“We were a strictly academic group before, and the CEPID introduced this focus on the question of technology transfer. Because of this, we got patents and approached companies,” he affirmed.

The CTC also developed many actions to disseminate the information gained at the Center to society. One example is the Casa da Ciência (House of Science) project, which began in 2001 developing educational science activities for elementary and high school students and teachers in the Ribeirão Preto region, reaching 30 municipalities.

“The CTC educational program is one of the most active in São Paulo State. The Center is always busy with visits where students come into contact with the researchers and produce a large quantity of materials ranging from educational books to a science journal and theater pieces. This would not happen if it were not for the support from the CEPID program,” said Zago.