A gel that helps muscle stem cells keep their repair ability
Engineered Asymmetric Hydrogel for Muscle Stem Cell Polarity and Fate Specification
A special gel is being developed to help muscle stem cells keep their ability to repair muscle for people with injuries or muscle-wasting diseases.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New York, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11258870 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
Researchers are building an asymmetric hydrogel that mimics key features of the muscle stem cell niche to guide how these cells orient and decide their fate. They will pinpoint the minimal biochemical and mechanical cues needed to set cell polarity and promote physiologic division outside the body. The team will test combinations of surface signals and controlled forces to expand self-renewing muscle stem cells long-term. The aim is to produce transplant-ready, patient-derived cells that could be edited and returned to patients in future therapies.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: People with muscle injuries, inherited muscle disorders like muscular dystrophy, or other conditions that cause muscle loss who might benefit from future stem cell–based therapies.
Not a fit: People without muscle conditions or those needing immediate clinical treatment are unlikely to benefit now because this is preclinical laboratory research.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could enable growing more functional muscle stem cells for transplants, improving recovery from injuries and muscle-wasting diseases.
How similar studies have performed: Biomaterial approaches have improved culture of muscle and other stem cells, but using an asymmetric gel to control polarity and produce long-term, transplant-ready muscle stem cells is largely novel and unproven in humans.
Where this research is happening
New York, United States
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai — New York, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Han, Woojin — Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Study coordinator: Han, Woojin
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.