Sangmoo Jeong, core researcher at the Institute for NanoBioTechnology and assistant professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, is among the 39 scientists from Maryland-based research organizations that received funding from the Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission to support projects that advance stem cell treatments and technologies. Jeong received funding from the Launch category, which encourages new and new-to-the-field faculty to bring innovative research and technology to regenerative medicine.
Jeong’s project, “Use of Extracellular Vesicles (EV) from Metabolically Engineered Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSC) for Prolonged Organ Preservation in Heart Transplantation,” aims to preserve the integrity of donated organs as they are transported from donor to receiver by creating a solution that protects the organ from damage caused by a lack of blood supply. In the United States, over 100,000 people are on the organ transplant waiting list and about 20 people die each day waiting for an organ to become available. With the limited availability, keeping each available organ healthy as it reaches a recipient is critically important.
When an organ is transported from donor to recipient, the cessation of its blood supply depletes the organ of adequate oxygen and other nutrients. This oxygen depletion can have damaging effects on the organ and ultimately the success of a transplant procedure. Jeong and his team plan to create the solution using extracellular vesicles taken from engineered mesenchymal stem cells, which are cells from the bone marrow and other tissues. These cells offer many therapeutic benefits including tissue regenerations. In these efforts, Jeong and his team not only hope to keep the organ healthy during transport, but he also thinks it will open a new door to finding organs from larger geographical areas.