iBB

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are membrane vesicles fundamental for cellular communication processes. Either by taking advantage of EVs innate properties, or by loading them with therapeutic agents, EVs have emerged as cell-free strategies with diverse clinical applications. Indeed, when compared to mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs), similar or better therapeutic benefits have been reported for MSC-derived EVs, thus explaining the increased interest in EVs over the years. Despite appealing features, EVs implementation in the clinic is still limited by technical difficulties, like robust isolation methods capable of delivering a high-quality product with high yield. In this work, published in the journal Separation and Purification Technology, we described anion exchange chromatography as a robust and better alternative to already implemented techniques. Following this strategy, more than 85% of injected EVs could be recovered, while complying with the stringencies set by regulatory agencies. This study developed at iBB was led by Dr. Ana Fernandes-Platzgummer and Prof. Ana Azevedo and co-first-authored by PhD students Ricardo Silva and Sara Sousa Rosa.

CellAgri Portugal, the Portuguese Association for Cellular Agriculture Development, is a recently created independent non-profit organization, headquartered at IST-TagusPark.

The mission of CellAgri Portugal is to facilitate and encourage the cooperative development of cellular_agriculture in Portugal as well as to inform the public about the industrial, scientific, and technological developments in the field involving the Portuguese community worldwide.

Joaquim Cabral is the president of CellAgri Portugal and Carlos Rodrigues is the executive director. CellAgri Portugal also counts with the iBB researchers Frederico Ferreira, Ana Fernandes-Platzgummer, Paola Alberte, and the iBB PhD students Diana Marques and Hélder Tavares.

Umbilical cord blood (UCB) is an accepted and appealing alternative source of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPC) for hematopoietic cell transplants. However, low UCB volume recovered from births results in an unsatisfactory cell dose for transplants in adults, having initially limited transplants of a single UCB unit to pediatric patients. Ex vivo expansion of HSPC based on the addition of exogenous cytokines.has been pursued to address this problem. Notably, selection of individual cytokines and their concentrations for an expansion cocktail has differed between existing strategies. To improve the effectiveness of these platforms, namely targeting clinical approval, iBB researchers optimized the cytokine cocktails in two clinically relevant expansion platforms for HSPC, a liquid suspension culture system (CS_HSPC) and a co-culture system with bone marrow derived mesenchymal stromal cells (CS_HSPC/MSC).. The tailored and novel optimized cocktails determined made it possible to individually maximize cytokine contribution in both studied platforms, leading to an increase in the expansion platform performance, while allowing a rational side-by-side comparison between them and enhancing our knowledge on the impact of cytokine supplementation on the HSPC expansion process. The results achieved were published in Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, Stem Cell Systems Bioengineering section.

Cell and gene therapies (CGT) have reached new therapeutic targets but have noticeably high prices. Solutions to reduce production costs might be found in CGT storage and transportation since they typically involve cryopreservation, which is a heavily burdened process. Encapsulation at hypothermic temperatures (e.g., 2–8 °C) can be a feasible alternative. In this study, we determined the ability of alginate encapsulation to maintain cell viability, identity, and function in the context of mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC)-based therapy manufacturing. MSC encapsulation was proven possible for a remarkable 12 day period, showing its potential to act as a serious competitor to cryopreservation for short to medium time periods. This study developed at iBB was led by Dr. Ana Fernandes-Platzgummer and Prof. Cláudia Lobato da Silva and first-authored by PhD student André Branco.

Cell-based therapies have been showing unprecedented therapeutic potential, already changing the landscape of medical care. Extracellular vesicles are nanoparticles naturally secreted by cells, which are important mediators of intercellular communication in our organism and are able to mediate therapeutic effects from their cells of origin. These vesicles can also be used as drug delivery vehicles to target multiple diseases. In a paper recently published in Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, iBB researchers in collaboration with iMM Lisboa, CQE-IST and the companies PBS Biotech and AventaCell Biomedical, developed a new strategy for the robust and scalable production of extracellular vesicles from mesenchymal stromal cells, using bioreactors and an animal serum-free cell culture supplement. This strategy, developed within the frame of the PhD Program in Bioengineering of Miguel de Almeida Fuzeta, is a relevant step towards the large scale production of extracellular vesicles form different human tissue sources, which are promising tools for the development of new therapies against a variety of diseases, from cardiovascular diseases to cancer.