Written by:
Ryan Hicks
Head of Bioscience Cell Therapy, BioPharmaceuticals R&D
Peter Currie
Director of Research, Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute (ARMI), Monash University, Australia.
Degenerative chronic diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and chronic kidney disease (CKD), are associated with tissue damage in the respective organs. This trauma triggers a complex response that aims to drive the repair and regeneration of the organ. As the diseases progress, cellular mechanisms become dysregulated, and there is an onset of fibrosis or scarring, impairing normal tissue function and ultimately leading to organ failure and eventually death.
Macrophages are a type of white blood cell of the immune system that engulfs dead material in the body, helps fight infections, and stimulates the action of other immune cells. Recently, researchers have also found that macrophages can break down scar tissue and stimulate regeneration in the tissue. The potential of harnessing the body’s immune system to kickstart and accelerate tissue healing could be game-changing for regenerative medicine.
Different tissues show distinct regenerative capacities, but the cellular and molecular mechanisms are far from clear. In a recent Nature publication, findings from the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute (ARMI) lab start to identify the source and nature of macrophages after injury and the interactions with resident stem cells. The research revealed that a specific subset of macrophages ‘dwell’ within the injury and secrete signals required for muscle regeneration.
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After injury, macrophages (yellow) migrate to the wound.
This study demonstrates that macrophage-derived niche signals for muscle stem cells, such as NAMPT, can be applied as new therapeutic modalities for skeletal muscle injury and disease.
Building on these discoveries, our research seeks to better understand the role of macrophages in mediating regeneration and to investigate whether the macrophage-derived signals can be applied as new therapeutic modalities in different settings.
Our research was given a recent boost following a three year grant from the Australian Research Council to ARMI to enable critical research into developing macrophage-based technologies for tissue regeneration.
At AstraZeneca, we recognise that collaboration is central to our success, and I’m pleased that we can circumvent geographic boundaries to ensure we are collaborating with leading academic institutes, such as ARMI at Monash University.
