Keratin Hydrogels Show Significant Potential to Regenerate Lost Muscle Tissue and Function

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. - April 28, 2017 - PRLog -- The use of human hair-derived keratin biomaterials to regenerate skeletal muscle has shown promise in new research that documents significant increases in both new muscle tissue formation and muscle function among mouse models of volumetric muscle loss. Two new studies that compare muscle regeneration following treatment with keratin hydrogels, no repair, or an alternative tissue matrix are published in in Tissue Engineering, Part A, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers (http://www.liebertpub.com/). The articles are available free on the Tissue Engineering (http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/ten.tea.2016.0457) website until May 27, 2017.

In "Cell and Growth Factor-Loaded Keratin Hydrogels for Treatment of Volumetric Muscle Loss (VML) in  Mouse Model (http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/ten.tea.2016.0457)," Hannah Baker, PhD, Juliana Passipieri, PhD, George Christ, PhD, and coauthors from University Maryland (College Park), University of Virginia (Charlottesville), Wake Forest University and KeraNetics, LLC (Winston-Salem, NC), and Miami University (Oxford, OH) report that mice with an area of substantial muscle mass loss that were treated with keratin hydrogels and growth factors had the best recovery of muscle contraction force. Examination of the affected muscle two months after treatment showed that mice with greater recovery of muscle function also had more extensive new muscle.

In a second study, entitled "Keratin Hydrogel Enhances In Vivo Skeletal Muscle Function in a Rat Model of Volumetric Muscle Loss (http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/ten.tea.201...)," Passipieri, Baker, Christ, et al. compared the results of treating a substantial muscle injury in rats using keratin hydrogels with or without growth factors or skeletal muscle progenitor cells versus control animals treated with no repair or an alternative tissue matrix. Keratin hydrogel-treated animals recovered up to 90% of the maximum possible muscle function.

"The authors have identified a novel permissive environment for muscle development in a region of loss." says Tissue EngineeringCo-Editor-in-Chief Peter C. Johnson, MD, Principal, MedSurgPI, LLC and President and CEO, Scintellix, LLC, Raleigh, NC. "Further study to identify the optimal application of this technology and its mechanism of action is warranted."

About the Journal
Tissue Engineering (http://www.liebertpub.com/ten) is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published monthly online and in print in three parts: Part A, the flagship journal published 24 times per year; Part B: Reviews, published bimonthly, and Part C: Methods, published 12 times per year. Led by Co-Editors-In-Chief Antonios G. Mikos, PhD, Louis Calder Professor at Rice University, Houston, TX, and Peter C. Johnson, MD, Principal, MedSurgPI, LLC and President and CEO, Scintellix, LLC, Raleigh, NC, the Journal brings together scientific and medical experts in the fields of biomedical engineering, material science, molecular and cellular biology, and genetic engineering. Tissue Engineering is the official journal of the Tissue Engineering & Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS). Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed online at the Tissue Engineering (http://www.liebertpub.com/ten) website.

About the Publisher
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers (http://www.liebertpub.com/) is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Stem Cells and Development, Human Gene Therapy, and Advances in Wound Care. Its biotechnology trade magazine, GEN (Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (http://www.genengnews.com/)), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 80 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers (http://www.liebertpub.com/) website.