The Need

Neurological disorders arising from central nervous system (CNS) injuries and diseases pose significant challenges to quality of life. The limited capacity of CNS neurons to regenerate and the lack of effective therapies for conditions like glaucoma, optic nerve injury, and spinal cord injuries underscore the pressing need for innovative treatments that can restore neuronal function and axonal regrowth.

The Technology

The inventors have developed a cell therapy or vector-based system to stimulate nerve regrowth. In the cell therapy application, bone marrow derived IL-4 and G-CSF conditioned neutrophils are delivered to transected axons stimulating a neuroprotective and neurite growth effect. The inventors have shown optic nerve regeneration and neurite outgrowth in an optic nerve crush mouse model. This approach overcomes intrinsic barriers to regeneration with CNS injuries and diseases and can reverse nerve damage.

Commercial Applications

Optic Nerve Disorders: glaucoma and traumatic optic nerve injuries

Neurodegenerative Diseases: Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Traumatic Injuries: spinal cord injury, stroke, and traumatic brain injuries

Publication

Andrew Jerome, Andrew Sas, Benjamin Segal; Generation of a novel population of neuro-regenerative neutrophils as a cellular therapy in a mouse model of optic nerve crush injury. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2023;64(8):1920.

Patent Status

PCT patent application filed: PCT/US2022/080673