McGowan Institute?
June 2006 | VOL. 5, NO. 6 | www.McGowan.pitt.edu
The kick-off event for the Center for Vascular Remodeling and Regeneration (CVRR) was held with a retreat on May 26, 2006. Over 50 clinicians and investigators within the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC Health System participated in the retreat, which included a luncheon meeting, invited speaker presentations, and poster presentations by CVRR participants.
Dr. David A. Vorp, presided over the event designed to unite the participating scientists and clinicians who are actively engaged in studying the various aspects of vascular disease and exploring clinical solutions such as tissue engineering, regeneration and cell therapy. This formalized effort is designed to accelerate the "bench-to-bedside" process of vascular based therapies.
Nationally recognized authorities in vascular remodeling and regeneration Dr. Keith March, Director of the Indiana Center for Vascular Biology and Medicine; Dr. Nicolas L’Heureux, Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Cytograft Tissue Engineering, Inc.; and Dr. Bauer Sumpio, Director of the Yale Center for Vascular Diseases were the featured speakers and shared their expertise with those in attendance.
The CVRR is a new initiative with base institutions, affiliations, facilities, and talent pools that are significant and well established. Our mission is long-term and we welcome other professionals who share our commitment to join us in this dynamic, interdisciplinary effort.
The UPMC Health Journal has highlighted the clinical and research initiatives of several McGowan Institute faculty members. The June 2006 edition addresses the work of the Facial Nerve Center at UPMC which is under the leadership of Ernest Manders, MD, Medical Director of Center. The Center has a multidisciplinary team of specialists — from surgeons to neurologists to physical therapists — in one location. Read more about the work of Dr. Manders and his colleagues.
Highlights from prior editions of the UPMC Health Journal include the following:
Advanced Heart Failure Center: Healing hearts, restoring hope
Heart failure is a common medical condition where the heart muscle grows weak and becomes unable to pump enough blood throughout the body. Congestive heart failure (CHF) is common among those who are age 40 or older.
The Heart Failure/Transplantation Program at the UPMC Cardiovascular Institute (CVI) is directed by Dennis McNamara, MD. The center is a collaborative effort of cardiologists, physician assistants, nurses, nurse practitioners, cardiac surgeons, and transplant surgeons – all of whom specialize in treating heart failure. Read More
Advance in ACL reconstruction
UPMC is using an innovative new approach to repair torn anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL. The anterior cruciate ligament and posterior cruciate ligament are the major stabilizing ligaments of the knee joint. The ACL has a complex structure consisting of two different bundles. Most ACL repairs utilize an ACL single-bundle reconstruction technique. However, Freddie H. Fu, MD, chairman of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at UPMC, utilizes a “double-bundle” reconstruction of the torn ACL. This technique restores both functional bundles of the ACL, the vertical bundle and the oblique bundle. Dr. Fu has already helped several top professional athletes with the double-bundle procedure. Read More
Stem cells may help damaged hearts heal
UPMC researchers and physicians are developing new treatments for heart disease using a patient’s own stem cells. This approach may offer hope to patients who have not benefited from conventional therapies for heart disease and heart failure. Amit Patel, MD, director of the UPMC Center for Cardiac Cell Therapy, is a pioneer of techniques that isolate a patient’s own stem cells from their bone marrow — which has a rich supply — to strengthen heart muscles weakened by heart disease or devastated by heart failure, the most severe form of heart disease. Read More
Innovative rehabilitation services
By 2012, an estimated 20 percent of Americans will have some form of paralysis or other significant physical impairment. In response to the growing incidence of physical and cognitive disability, UPMC has created a rehabilitation program committed to advanced rehabilitation and research. Established in 2004, the UPMC Institute for Rehabilitation and Research (IRR) is one of the premier physical rehabilitation programs in the country. The Institute is under the leadership of Ross Zafonte, DO, chairman of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and chief medical officer of the IRR. Read More
Growing new body parts
Under the leadership of Stephen Badylak, D.V.M., M.D., Ph.D., McGowan Institute researchers have developed a material that encourages the body to regrow damaged tissues, including skin, muscle, and tendons. The scientists start with a "biologic scaffold” which encourages the development of strong, healthy tissue; as the new tissue grows across it, the scaffold is harmlessly absorbed by the body. No matter where it is placed, the body tends to turn the scaffolding into the type of tissue needed. Read More
Artificial hearts move into mainstream
The availability of the heart transplantation surgery has given many patients new hope for survival. One of the limitations of heart transplantation is the limited availability of organs suitable for transplant. Approximately 3,500 patients are on the national heart transplant waiting list; many die waiting for a donor organ.
The Artificial Heart Team at UPMC has given hope to many patients through the use of artificial pumping devices that give a failing heart a bit of help. Such heart assist devices have traditionally been used to keep a patient alive long enough to receive a donor heart. An exciting new discovery is that some of these patients at UPMC bucked what once was conventional wisdom. Their heart tissues, relieved of the full burden of pumping the body's blood by the assist device, began to heal. Learn more from the interview with Robert L. Kormos, MD.
Pittsburgh at the forefront of Alzheimer's research
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) are revolutionizing the fight against Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Through the Alzheimer Disease Research Center directed by Steven DeKosky, MD, innovative treatments are being investigated. Read More
The 52nd annual meeting of the American Society for Artificial Internal Organs (ASAIO) was held in Chicago in June 2006. Numerous members of the McGowan Institute and the Bioengineering department contributed to the success of the meeting; there fifteen presentations on a wide range of topics. Listed below are the presentations, and the faculty mentor of the graduate students who contributed.
Adsorption Column Kinetics In Treatment Of Liver Failure
Stefan Safta (Ph.D. candidate in Dr. Patzer’s lab)
Development Of Flow Cytometric Assays For Biocompatibility Assessment In Ovines
Carl Johnson Jr. (M.D., Ph.D. candidate in Dr. Wagner’s lab)
Biocompatibility Evaluation Of The Levitronix Pediatric VAD In Ovines
Carl Johnson (M.D., Ph.D. candidate in Dr. Wagner’s lab)
Functional Platelet And Heparin Activity Assays Applied To Ovines
Joshua Woolley (M.S. Candidate in Dr. Wagner’s lab)
Validity Of Normalized Index Of Hemolysis In Pediatric Mechanical Circulatory Assist Devices
Marina Kameneva, PhD
Optimization, Validation, And Re-Optimization Of PediaFlow Maglev Turbo-VAD
James Antaki, PhD
A Biohybrid Lung Prototype With Active Mixing And Oxygenation Of Endothelialized
Microporous Hollow Fibers
Alexa Polk, (Ph.D. candidate in Dr. Wagner’s lab)
Rheological Properties Of Bovine Blood Assessed By A Viscoelasticity Analyzer.
Potential Applications In Testing Of Heart-Assist Device Biocompatibility
Philip Marascalco (Ph.D. candidate in Dr. Kameneva’s lab)
Effects Of Drag-Reducing Polymers On Blood Flow In Microchannels
Joie Marhefka (Ph.D. candidate in Dr. Kameneva’s lab)
System To Assess Perfusion Adequacy In Pediatric Patients
Mark Gartner, Ph.D.
Progress With The Pediatric Cardiopulmonary Assist System
Mark Gartner, Ph.D.
Porous Media Technique For Computational Modeling Of A Novel Pump-Oxygenator
Mark Gartner, Ph.D.
Development And In Vivo Evaluation Of The Levitronix Pediatric VAD
Peter Wearden, M.D.
Antibody Removal By Immobilized Synthetic Antigen In Specific Antibody Filters
Shalini Gautam, Ph.D. (Research Associate in Dr. Federspiel’s lab)
Kinetics Of Albumin Dialysis
Richard Miller (Ph.D. Candidate in Dr. Patzer’s lab)
University Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg made the appointment, which become effective June 1, based on the recommendations of Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor James V. Maher and Senior Vice Chancellor for the Health Sciences Arthur S. Levine.
Dr. Russell is the director of the McGowan Institute, executive director of the Pittsburgh Tissue Engineering Initiative, and director of the National Tissue Engineering Center. Academically he is a professor of surgery in the School of Medicine, of bioengineering and chemical engineering in Pitt's School of Engineering, and of rehabilitation science and technology in SHRS.
Among Russell's many honors are the R&D 100 Award, which the Chicago Tribune called "the Oscars® of Invention"; the American Cyanamid Research Award; and the Carnegie Science Center Award for Excellence in Science and Technology. He is a fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering and serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Molecular Catalysis B: Enzymatic, the Encyclopedia of Catalysis, and Biocatalysis and Biotransformation.
Russell earned the Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry and applied molecular biology at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology in Manchester, England, in 1984 and the Ph.D. degree in biological chemistry at the Imperial College of the University of London in 1987. He joined Pitt as an assistant professor in the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering in 1989. In 1995, he became Nickolas A. DeCecco Professor and was chair of the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering from 1995 to 2001. In 1999, he cofounded Agentase LLC, a highly successful Pittsburgh biotechnology company, and became executive director of the Pittsburgh Tissue Engineering Initiative. In 2001, Russell was appointed director of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine.
The title of University Professor is given in recognition of eminence in several fields of study, transcending accomplishment in, and contributions to, a single discipline.
Student Recognized for Science Project
The Pittsburgh Tissue Engineering Initiative (PTEI) and the McGowan Institute jointly sponsored a prize on tissue engineering at the 67th Pittsburgh Regional Science & Engineering Fair. Nearly 700 students from 94 schools in 12 western Pennsylvania counties participated. A panel of judges representing PTEI and the McGowan Institute reviewed all of the projects entered in this category and selected Christina Lee’s experiment as the winner. Christina, a student at Upper St. Clair High School, studied the effect of red wine and/or grape juice on the lifespan and heart rate of Daphnia Magna. Her hypothesis was that when Daphnia were immersed in wine and grape juice solutions they would live longer than the control group and that their heart functions would be stronger and more consistent. Christina used solutions of 1:4, 1:8, 1:16, 1:32, and 1:64 of wine or grape juice mixed with nutrient water to test her theories. Her results showed that the 1:64 wine group lived consistently longer than the control group because of antioxidants and increased nitric oxide production.
Although she expected the same results from the grape juice, she suspects that the sugars in the grape juice caused more bacteria and molds to grow, leading to a decline in Daphnia lifespan. The heart rates were unchanged in both solutions. Christian said that If she were to repeat this experiment she would use higher-level animals, such as mice, which would correlate better to humans. Other areas that she would investigate in further studies include testing specifically for antioxidants and nitric oxide and researching substances that inhibit bacterial growth without harming the animals. The judges for this award were: T. Maul; A. Nieponice and S. Vanepps.
Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh has received congressional recognition as the world’s premiere center for pediatric transplantation for the past 25 years, longer than any other center in the world.
From Thomas Starzl, MD, to George Mazariegos, MD (pictured right), – Children’s Hillman Center for Pediatric Transplantation continues to pioneer approaches to improve outcomes and quality of life for children. In the 25 years since establishing the first pediatric transplant center under the guidance of transplant pioneer Thomas E. Starzl, MD, PhD, Children’s Hillman Center for Pediatric Transplantation has performed more than 2,200 transplant and today is a leader in developing strategies to manage organ rejection. Transplant surgeons offer a regimen of anti-rejection drugs that not only protects the transplanted organ, but in many cases allows surgeons to wean young patients from steroids soon after surgery.
As one of the leading pediatric transplant centers in the world, Children’s performs more kinds of organ and tissue transplants in children than does any other center in the United States — including heart, heart/lung, heart/liver, lung, double-lung, liver, split-liver, living-related liver, heart/lung/liver, liver/kidney, liver/small intestine, kidney, living-related kidney/bone marrow, intestine, pancreas, multivisceral and bone marrow.
Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh – Leader in Pediatric Transplantation – has:
- performed the world’s first pediatric double-lung transplant
- performed the world’s first pediatric heart-lung transplant
- performed the world’s first pediatric heart-liver transplant.
- has also been one of the only pediatric transplant centers in the world to pioneer the use of a ventricular assist device as a bridge to heart transplantation.
- has performed more pediatric heart-lung transplants than any other center in the country
- has the most active pediatric liver transplant center in the country
- has performed more pediatric intestinal transplants than any other center in the country.
McGowan Institute researchers have successfully used gene therapy to accelerate muscle regeneration in experimental animals with muscle damage, suggesting this technique may be a novel and effective approach for improving skeletal muscle healing, particularly for serious sports-related injuries.
Skeletal muscle injuries are the most common injuries encountered in sports medicine. Although such injuries can heal on their own, the formation of scar tissue may prevent a complete recovery of function. Of particular concern are top athletes who, when injured, need to recover fully as quickly as possible.
In this study, the Pitt researchers injected mice with a gene therapy vector containing myostatin propeptide — a protein that blocks the activity of the muscle-growth inhibitor myostatin — three weeks prior to experimentally damaging the mice’s skeletal muscles. Four weeks after skeletal muscle injury, the investigators observed better muscle regeneration in the gene-therapy treated mice compared to untreated control mice. There also was significantly less fibrous scar tissue in the skeletal muscle of the gene-therapy treated mice compared to the control mice.
Corresponding author Johnny Huard, the Henry J. Mankin Endowed Chair and Professor in Orthopaedic Surgery, School of Medicine, and director of the Stem Cell Research Center of Children’s Hospital, said this approach offers a significant, long-lasting method for treating serious, sports-related muscle injuries.
“Based on our previous studies, we expect that gene-therapy treated cells will continue to overproduce myostatin propeptide for at least two years. Since the remodeling phase of skeletal muscle healing is a long-term process, we believe that prolonged expression of myostatin propeptide will continue to contribute to recovery of injured skeletal muscle by inducing an increase in muscle mass and minimizing fibrosis. This could significantly reduce the amount of time an athlete needs to recover and result in a more complete recovery,” he explained.
Others involved in the study included Jinhong Zhu and Yong Li of the Growth and Development Laboratory, Children’s Hospital; and Chunping Qiao and Xiao Xiao (Pictured Right) of the Molecular Therapies Laboratory, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, School of Medicine.
The Regenerative Medicine Podcasts continue to be well received. There have been over 2,200 downloads to date. The most recent podcasts are:
| Anthony Atala, MD, Director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine and Chairman of the Department of Urology at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine. |
Dr. David Williams, Director of the UK Centre for Tissue Engineering (a collaborative project in Tissue Engineering between the University of Manchester and the University of Liverpool). |
| Mary Ann Liebert, publisher of over 50 highly respected scientific journals. |
Visit www.regenerativemedicinetoday.com to keep abreast of the new interviews.
Congratulations to the following faculty for the recent grant awards:
Dr. Badylak: Sub with Hagedorn Research Institute under a prime award to Hagedorn by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation; project “Use of Pancreatic ECM to Enhance In Vitro Growth of Pancreatic Progenitors”
Dr. Lagasse: Jennifer Grandis, Otolaryngology, PI; NIH (Grant No. 1 P50 CA097190); project “Spore Head and Neck”
Based on the requests of faculty and graduate students for more and different types of networking sessions, the Moleculart project will continue in the Fall term. Our goal is to have a scientific gathering that fosters networking in a different environment. Please save the dates and join us on October 3rd and December 6th; Time: 4:30 – 6:30 PM; Place: S-100 BST.
Langer Lecture July 11, 2006; 1:30-2:30 PM
Dr. Robert S. Langer, will present a lecture entitled “Advances in Drug Delivery and Tissue Engineering”. Dr. Langer is an Institute Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The lecture will be in Scaife Hall – Auditorium #5
MORE [http://www.mirm.pitt.edu/events/seminarseries.htm]
McGowan Institute Picnic August 18, 2006
The annual McGowan Institute picnic has been scheduled for August 18, 2006 at Bridgeside Point. Please save the date and “stay tuned” for more details.