Cell encapsulation technology as a therapeutic strategy for CNS malignancies

Abstract

Neuro-Oncology n J U LY 2 0 0 1 201 Gene therapy using viral vectors has to date failed to reveal its de nitive clinical usefulness. Cell encapsulation technology represents an alternative, nonviral approach for the delivery of biologically active compounds to tumors. This strategy involves the use of genetically engineered producer cells that secrete a protein with therapeutic potential. The cells are encapsulated in an immunoisolating material that makes them suitable for transplantation. The capsules, or bioreactors, permit the release of recombinant proteins that may assert their effects in the tumor microenvironment. During the last decades, there has been signi cant progress in the development of encapsulation technologies that comprise devices for both macro-and microencapsulation. The polysaccharide alginate is the most commonly used material for cell encapsulation and is well tolerated by various tissues. A wide spectrum of cells and tissues has been encapsulated and implanted, both in animals and humans, indicating the general applicability of this approach for both research and medical purposes, including CNS malignancies. Gliomas most frequently recur at the resection site. To provide local and sustained drug delivery, the bioreactors can be implanted in the brain parenchyma or in the ventricular system. The development of comprehensive analyses of geno-and phenotypic pro les of a tumor (genomics and proteomics) may provide new and important guidelines for choosing the optimal combination of bioreactors and recombinant proteins for therapeutic use. Neuro-Oncology 3, 201-210, 2001 (Posted to Neuro-Oncology [serial online], Doc. 00-064,

A novel core–shell microcapsule for encapsulation and 3D culture of embryonic stem cells

“…Transplantation of encapsulated cells (particularly stem cells) has been proposed to be a promising cell-based treatment for a wide variety of malfunctions such as diabetes, metabolic deciencies, liver failure, cancer, and neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] Alginate has been one of the most commonly used biomaterials for cell encapsulation, probably due to its natural origin (in seaweeds) and excellent biocompatibility. [8][9][10][11][12] A unique property of alginate is that it forms a hydrogel under mild conditions (in the presence of divalent cations such as Ca 2+ ) that is not very harmful to living cells, [11][12][13] which we and others have utilized to prepare cell-loaded plain (or pure) alginate microbeads by electrospray and microuidic ow focusing.…”

Droplet-based microfluidic system for multicellular tumor spheroid formation and anticancer drug testing

“…Alginate hydrogels have already been extensively used in cell encapsulation, [11][12][13][14] for applications including transplantation of insulin-producing pancreatic islet cells to treat diabetes. Alginates are block copolymers which cross-link in the presence of divalent cations such as Ca 2+ .…”

Cell surface modification with polymers for biomedical studies

“…If so, it will have a strong impact on the therapies of various diseases, such as type I diabetes and disorders of the central nervous system such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, ALS, and Huntington's disease because it is necessary to prevent the graft loss from the attack by the recipient defence system. [59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66] Fig. 8 Immunocytochemical analyses of EBs carrying GFP-HEK293 and PA6 cells after 6 days of hanging drop culture.…”