Athersys Inc (ATHXQ)

[goupupup]

For those of you who are interested to read about Multistem.
The MultiStem clinical product is developed from a special class of stem cells called Multipotent Adult Progenitor Cells, or MAPC®.

1. Preterm Brain Injury, Antenatal Triggers, and Therapeutics:
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/9/8/1871

2. Safety and Efficacy of Stem Cell Therapy in Patients With Ischemic Stroke [MAPC treatment results]:
At 1 year: mRS ≤2 achieved in 51% of treatment group vs 44% of control; NIHSS improvement of ≥75% in 49% of treatment group vs 46% of control; Excellent outcome achieved in 23% of treatment vs 8% of control (p= 0·0206) [Excellent outcome: composite of mRS ≤1, NIHSS ≤1, and BI ≥95]
https://www.cureus.com/articles/38405-safety-and-efficacy-of-stem-cell-therapy-in-patients-with-ischemic-stroke

3. The Delivery of Multipotent Adult Progenitor Cells to Extended Criteria Human Donor Livers:
There was no detrimental effect on perfusion flow parameters on infusion of MAPC cells by either route. Three out of six livers met established criteria for organ viability. 35-plex multiplex analysis of perfusate yielded 13 positive targets, 9 of which appeared to be related to the infusion of MAPC cells. Proteomic analysis revealed 295 unique proteins in the perfusate from time-points following the infusion of cellular therapy, many of which have strong links to MAPC cells and mesenchymal stem cells in the literature. Functional enrichment analysis demonstrated their immunomodulatory potential. MAPC cells appear to secrete a host of soluble factors that would have anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory benefits in a human model of liver transplantation.
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2020.01226/full

4. Human MAP cell-conditioned medium improves wound healing through modulating inflammation and angiogenesis:
MAPC cells can have an important effect on cutaneous wound healing by affecting skin cell proliferation and migration, balancing inflammation and improving the formation of extracellular matrix and angiogenesis. Development of stem cell-free therapy for the treatment of wounds may be a more clinically translatable approach for improving healing outcomes.
https://stemcellres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13287-020-01819-z

5. A Comparison of Mesenchymal Stromal Cells and MAP Cells:
Data would suggest that the immunomodulatory and cytoprotective capacity of MAPC is equivalent to that of MSC, and that MAPC may have superior angiogenic and broader differentiation properties. In practical terms, MAPC offer the distinct advantage over classical MSC that they can be produced on a large scale, in a reproducible manner.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6724467/

6. MAPC® cell therapy enhances the ex-vivo expansion of polyclonal, regulatory T cells:
ReGenesys has developed a platform technology for the expansion of Treg cells derived from PB while fully maintaining their functional characteristics. This platform is based on the use of our proprietary MAPC stromal stem cell therapy which consists of non-hematopoietic stem cells derived from bone marrow that secrete various growth factors and have potent immunomodulatory effects. When CD4+CD25+127low-sorted Treg cells from PB were expanded on MAPC cells, a robust and high Treg cell yield was obtained, reaching the critical threshold of clinical batch production (1 billion cells) in all donors. Furthermore, a higher purity was observed (less potential CD8+ T cell contamination) and a specific signature was seen in terms of phenotype (low skin-homing/ high gut-homing marker expression). The immunosuppressive function was confirmed in both in vitro and in vivo models. Finally, successful Treg expansions have also been performed from PB of Crohn's Disease patients.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1465324920303315