Cell Therapy Tools for Cartilage Repair From Osteoarthritic Knee Joint of Elderly
18.6.2020 08:34:00 EEST | Business Wire | Press release
A break through feat of growing pluripotency expressing cells from osteoarthritis (OA) affected cartilage tissue of knee joints of elderly has been reported by orthopedicians and cell culture experts led by Dr Shojiro Katoh, President, Edogawa Hospital. OA affects, knee joints of millions globally and those with severe disease, undergo Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA), in which damaged cartilage is replaced with artificial knee prosthesis. Dr Katoh, during TKA surgery, took portions of the damaged tissue, which otherwise is discarded, isolated chondrocyte cells in tissue engineering lab, and could culture them as fully reorganized healthy cartilage tissue, expressing biomarkers relevant to pluripotency.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200617005880/en/
"Pluripotency expressing cells grown from osteoarthritis affected knee joint, open doors to a spectrum of novel solutions to address cartilage damage," says Dr. Shojiro Katoh, President, Edogawa Hospital, Tokyo, Japan. (Photo: Business Wire)
Cartilage of the knee joint acts as a cushion between bones of the thigh and leg and absorbs the body weight. When cartilage is damaged due to sports injury, trauma or wear and tear, it causes joint pain and disability. In early stage of the disease, Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation (ACI) or Matrix Assisted Chondrocyte Implantation (MACI) are practiced. Such cell therapies use patient’s own cartilage cells, harvested from healthy, non-weight bearing area, grown in lab, and transplanted to replace the damaged tissue, to restore functionality.
"This could probably be the world’s first report of Osteoarthritis tissue, yielding cells expressing pluripotency markers," said Dr. Katoh, citing their publication in Regenerative Therapy Journal (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352320420300274), also presented in the 19th Japanese society for regenerative medicine meeting. "Our technique may help utilize OA affected cartilage, discarded as biomedical waste, as a source of tools of cell therapies viz., cells, cell secreted growth factors, and exosomes to repair cartilage defects in regenerative medicine," he added.
Edogawa hospital, located in eastern Tokyo, has many senior citizens. "Contrary to the age-old belief that Wisdom is the strength of elders, this research finding has made me humble, to learn about nature’s hidden strength in their physical intricacies too, fueling our enthusiasm," said Dr Katoh adding a philosophical humility to his accomplishment. His Edogawa Evolutionary Lab of Science (EELS), having confirmed hyaline phenotype is now evaluating miRNA-140 and Hyaluronan expression of chondrocytes.
This technology has a potential to solve cartilage damage of approximately 12 million people annually worldwide, according to JBM Inc, and GN Corporation, co-applicants to a patent and research partners to EELS.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200617005880/en/
Contact information
Samuel JK Abraham
GN Corporation
info@gncorporation.com
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Netceed Strengthens Board with Global Infrastructure and Technology Leaders1.4.2026 15:00:00 EEST | Press release
Netceed, a global leader in delivering supply chain solutions across broadband, data center and energy infrastructure, today announced the appointment of Franck Bruel, Jan Frykhammar and Stacey Thompson to advise as strategic advisors to its Board of Directors. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260401045867/en/ Franck Bruel Following the recently announced recapitalization of the Netceed Group and under the chairmanship of Rajeev Suri, the company is strengthening its Board with globally recognized leaders across telecommunications infrastructure, industrial distribution, energy infrastructure and hyperscale technology. Collectively, the new appointees bring decades of leadership experience across some of the world’s most influential infrastructure and technology companies, reflecting Netceed’s ambition to play a leading role in the next generation of global digital, AI and energy infrastructure. Rajeev Suri, Ch
Vertex Announces US FDA Approval for Label Extensions of ALYFTREK ® and TRIKAFTA ® , Expanding Availability of These Medicines to ~95% of All People With CF in the United States1.4.2026 14:30:00 EEST | Press release
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (Nasdaq: VRTX) today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved expanded use of ALYFTREK® (vanzacaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor) for the treatment of people with cystic fibrosis (CF) ages 6 and older with a variant in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene that is either responsive based on clinical and/or in vitro data or results in production of CFTR protein. Additionally, the U.S. FDA has also expanded the indication statement for TRIKAFTA® (elexacaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor and ivacaftor) in patients ages 2 and older. This label expansion was supported by clinical and/or in vitro data from 564 variants demonstrating response to ALYFTREK and 521 variants demonstrating response to TRIKAFTA. As such, approximately 800 more people with a clinical diagnosis of CF in the U.S. are now eligible for a medicine that treats the underlying cause of their disease for the first time. This extension means approxim
Agenus Announces First Patient Enrolled in Global Phase 3 BATTMAN Trial of BOT+BAL Immunotherapy Combination in MSS or pMMR Metastatic Colorectal Cancer1.4.2026 14:30:00 EEST | Press release
Agenus Inc. (Nasdaq: AGEN), a leader in immuno-oncology innovation, today announced that the first patient has been enrolled in the landmark global phase 3 BATTMAN (CO.33) trial (NCT07152821). This study is evaluating Agenus’ immunotherapy combination of botensilimab (BOT) plus balstilimab (BAL) versus best supportive care in patients with refractory, unresectable microsatellite stable (MSS)/mismatch repair proficient (pMMR) metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), a population long considered resistant to immunotherapy. This study is being conducted as a cooperative group trial led by the Canadian Cancer Trials Group (CCTG) from Canada and run across Canada, France, Australia and New Zealand. More than 100 sites will participate across the academic cooperative networks of CCTG, GI Cancer Trials in Australia and France’s Partenariat de Recherche en Oncologie Digestive (PRODIGE) consortium (including Unicancer, GERCOR and FFCD). The BATTMAN (CO.33) trial serves as the registrational-enablin
Klarna Agrees to $1.7 Billion Transaction Supporting up to $40B+ of Lending1.4.2026 14:19:00 EEST | Press release
Klarna, the global digital bank and flexible payments provider, has entered into a new capital efficiency transaction in the form of a Significant Risk Transfer (SRT), covering $1.7 billion-worth of Euro denominated loans and freeing up capital to support continued growth. Klarna has entered into a three-year agreement with a consortium led by Värde Partners. This is Klarna's sixth SRT transaction and improves how effectively Klarna deploys its capital on a global basis. "Our banking license is one of our biggest competitive advantages," said Niclas Neglén, Klarna's Chief Financial Officer. "This is our largest and most efficient SRT transaction to date. These transactions allow us to maximize every unit of capital to support our continued momentum." The transaction follows Klarna’s recently announced $2 billion facility supporting $17B of US Financing expansion. About Klarna Klarna is a global digital bank and flexible payments provider. With over 118 million global active Klarna user
Americhem Launches nDryve™: PFAS-Free In-Melt Technology Platform for Functional Fibers1.4.2026 14:00:00 EEST | Press release
Americhem, Inc., a global polymer solutions provider, today announced the launch of nDryve™, a PFAS-free, in-melt surface-modifying technology platform designed to deliver durable multi-fluid repellency against alcohol and other low-surface-energy fluids in fiber systems. As global regulations accelerate the phase-out of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), manufacturers are under increasing pressure to maintain barrier performance without fluorinated chemistries. nDryve™ was developed to address this shift, offering a PFAS-free, in-melt alternative to conventional surface applied treatments. Engineered for Performance Without PFAS Often referred to as “forever chemicals,” PFAS have come under heightened regulatory scrutiny due to their persistence and potential environmental and health impacts. nDryve™ integrates directly into the polymer during melt processing, embedding surface-modifying functionality within the fiber matrix rather than relying on removable finishes. By engin
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom