In November 2021, Northwestern University researchers introduced an injectable new therapy, which harnessed fast-moving "dancing molecules," to repair tissues and reverse paralysis after severe spinal cord injuries. Now, the same research group has applied the therapeutic strategy to damaged human cartilage cells. In the new study, the treatment activated the gene expression necessary to regenerate cartilage within just four hours.
And, after only three days, the human cells produced protein components needed for cartilage regeneration. The researchers also found that, as the molecular motion increased, the treatment's effectiveness also increased. In other words, the molecules' "dancing" motions were crucial for triggering the cartilage growth process.
The study was published on July 26th, 2024 in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. When we first observed therapeutic effects of dancing molecules, we did not see any reason why it should only apply to the spinal cord. Now, we observe the effects in two cell types that are completely disconnected from one another -; cartilage cells in our joints and neurons in our brain and spinal cord.
This makes me more confident that we might have discovered a universal phenomenon. It could apply to many other tissues." Samuel I.
Stupp, Study Lead and Professor, Northwestern University An expert in regenerative nanomedicine, Stupp is Board of Trustees Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Chemistry, Medicine and Biomedica.