Go Gladstone Labs! The same lab that discovered it only takes a drop of blood to cause MS lesions is now turning stem cell knowledge upside down. By treating stem cells with PRO-inflammatory proteins first, (rather than anti-inflammatory or immune depleting drugs) they are turning ON MSCs power to fight inflammation. “The success of therapies involving MSCs depends on the cells’ environment,” explained Todd McDevitt, PhD, a senior investigator at Gladstone. “A patient taking anti-inflammatory medication may not have high enough levels of inflammation to trigger the cells. We engineered the MSCs to ensure that they are consistently activated, so they can reliably dampen the immune response for longer.”

A biomaterials hack can boost cells’ ability to combat inflammation and potentially treat autoimmune diseases.