Antibody-armed platelets for regenerative targeting of endogenous stem cells
Statement of Purpose: Stem cell therapy has been shown the most cutting-edge therapies in acute and chronic ischemic heart disease. However, current therapies are limited by the low efficiency of retention and integration of injected cells in the injured tissue. In this work, by taking advantage of the natural infarct-homing ability of platelets, we engineered CD34 antibody-linked platelets (P-CD34) to capture circulating CD34-positive endogenous stem cells and transport them to the injured heart (Scheme 1). In vitro, we will study if P-CD34 could capture endogenous stem cells in the whole blood. In a mouse model of acute myocardial infarction, we would like to investigate if P-CD34 would accumulate in the injured heart after intravenous administration, leading to a concentration of endogenous CD34 stem cells in the injured heart for effective heart repair.
