Researchers at Kazan State Medical University have developed a new means of regenerative medicine for the treatment of various diseases using therapeutic genes. The application for the invention was approved by the Rospatent of the Russian Federation, the study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation.
According to RT, the project manager, head of the department of medical biology and genetics of Kazan State Medical University, Rustem Islamov, the production technology and the drug itself have no analogues in the world. To create a medicine, a certain amount of blood is taken from a patient and his own white blood cells (white blood cells) are modified using therapeutic genes (artificial DNA or a combination of several genes designed to treat a specific disease). The preparation of the drug takes several hours.
- Scheme for the production and use of genetically modified leukoconcentrate (GML)
- © Kazan State Medical University / Rustem Islamov
The resulting product is introduced into the patient’s blood and, according to the authors, the body begins to work as a “factory” for the production of the necessary medicines. This technique has several advantages: white blood cells easily move through the bloodstream and penetrate into different tissues, without causing rejection of the body. The genetic material that they transport regenerates the damaged DNA of the patient or eliminates its defects.
The drug was called "Genetically Modified Leukoconcentrate" (GMF) by analogy with the common term "genetically modified organism" (GMO).
Own white blood cells are absolutely harmless to humans, and it will be possible to quickly create a therapeutic drug on the basis of any blood center, say the developers of GML. After 3-4 weeks, when the effect of therapeutic genes is weakened, treatment can be reused. The number of such sessions of gene therapy, scientists say, can be unlimited.
“The approaches of gene therapy are rather slowly being introduced into practical medicine due to high risks and costs,” said Rustem Islamov. “Correction of pathological processes with the help of GML can become one of the breakthrough directions in gene therapy.”
According to the project manager, with the introduction of this technology into clinical practice, it will be possible to treat the effects of cerebral stroke, diseases of the nervous system, strengthen immunity in viral diseases, correct blood clotting disorders, and increase bone regeneration rate.
According to scientists, the specific therapeutic effect of GML will depend on those therapeutic genes that will be added to it. Currently, the tool is undergoing preclinical testing in animals. The timing of the appearance of the drug on the pharmaceutical market has not yet been determined.