Description du projet
Une technologie implantable pour la régénération neuronale après une lésion de la moelle épinière
Chaque année, près d’un demi-million de personnes sont diagnostiquées comme souffrant d’une lésion de la moelle épinière (LME). La capacité limitée de régénération axonale, associée à un environnement non permissif, conduit à la paralysie. Afin de régénérer la fonction neuronale après une LME, le projet RISEUP, financé par l’UE, développera une technologie implantable électrifiée, biocompatible et biodégradable, introduisant des impulsions électriques contrôlées sans fil pour stimuler les cellules souches neurales transplantées et les cellules stromales multipotentes. Les impulsions électriques facilitent la maturation cellulaire et l’activité neuronale, en déclenchant la reconnexion des neurones endogènes. La vision à long terme de RISEUP consiste à proposer un traitement innovant des LME qui améliorera la qualité de vie des patients.
Objectif
Spinal Cord Injury (SCI), a major cause of paralysis, currently has no effective therapies. Every year almost 500.000 people are diagnosed with SCI worldwide. In Europe, the average investment is up to 2 M€ per patient in health care. The difficulty on the neuronal restoration after SCI is based on the complex cascade of events that inexorably cause a degenerative chronic stage mainly favored by the non-permissive environment and limited capacity for axonal regrowth. Multifaceted strategies are considered the unique solution for functional restoration by including cell substitution, neuroprotection and axonal growth promotion. RISEUP proposes to attain neuronal functional regeneration after SCI by an unprecedented and unique bio-hybrid-compatible electro-activated and wireless-rechargeable implantable technology. RISEUP introduces high voltage microsecond electric pulses (micropulses) stimulations and low amplitude direct currents on a combination of stem cells (induced neural stem cells and multipotent stromal cells), whose transplantation is facilitated by an innovative scaffold biomaterial. The RISEUP concept is that micropulses, being able to impose and control cytosolic Calcium oscillations, will facilitate cell maturation, survival and neurotrophic factors secretion. Because Calcium signaling is essential for neuronal activity, endogenous neuronal re-connections will also be favored. RISEUP goal, even if ambitious, is concrete due to the multidisciplinary partners’ competences, initiating from TRL1 a radically new line of technology (electro-activated, remotely controlled, biocompatible, biodegradable cell-containing implants for the repair of neuronal lesions) establishing its proof-of-principle (TRL3). The long-term vision of RISEUP is the radical change in SCI treatment modality to assure the cure delivery without any machinery connection, dramatically improving patients’ quality of life.
Champ scientifique
- natural scienceschemical sciencesinorganic chemistryalkaline earth metals
- medical and health sciencesmedical biotechnologycells technologiesstem cells
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicinetransplantation
- engineering and technologyindustrial biotechnologybiomaterials
- medical and health sciencesmedical biotechnologyimplants
Mots‑clés
Programme(s)
Régime de financement
RIA - Research and Innovation actionCoordinateur
00196 Roma
Italie