A multidisciplinary research team led by Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is developing new nanostructural polymer-based treatments to eliminate pathological bone formation in muscle and tendons, called heterotopic ossification, a common occurrence following orthopedic surgeries and amputations. This bone growth can press against nerves and blood vessels, resulting in chronic pain, limited motion, problems fitting prosthetic limbs, and other complications.
Data suggests heterotopic ossification occurs in more than 60 percent of military personnel who incur bone injury resulting in limb amputation. Therefore, the CMU labs of J.C. Warner University professor of natural sciences and chemistry professor Krzysztof Matyjaszewski, PhD, are using a three-year, $2.93 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to work with researchers at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point (West Point), New York; the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; and the Naval Medical Center, Portsmouth, Virginia, to produce a therapeutic solution to eliminate heterotopic ossification.
Jeffrey O. Hollinger, DDS, PhD, professor of biomedical engineering and biological sciences, and director of CMU’s Bone Tissue Engineering Center, the principal investigator for the grant, said the patient-centric focus of the team’s research includes a nanostructural polymer composite developed by Matyjaszewski to deliver unique ribonucleic acid (RNA) identified in the Hollinger laboratory, into cells at the bone trauma site to prevent heterotopic ossification in the soft tissue.
“The problem of heterotopic ossification is more widespread than the military population,” Hollinger said. More than 90 percent of hip replacement operations in the civilian U.S. population also show signs of heterotopic ossification. Because the problem is so complex, CMU researchers report that it will take a team of clinicians and researchers to develop solutions.
“We see this collaborative research as a win for both military and civilian populations. And we see this particular research project as a great way to help us change our research paradigm at West Point,” said J. Kenneth Wickiser, director of the Center for Molecular Science in the West Point Department of Chemistry and Life Science. “Our cadets are gaining invaluable hands-on research experience as summer interns at CMU’s biomedical engineering labs. And we are becoming more competitive in our abilities at West Point to tackle more innovative research initiatives.”
CMU researchers report there is a patent pending on the therapy and a clinical trial schedule will be developed once the preventative platform is fully laboratory tested.
Editor’s note: This story is adapted from materials provided by Carnegie Mellon University.
