Muscular dystrophy cell and blood sample bank
Muscular Dystrophy Cell Line and Serum Banking Core
This project builds and improves a bank of skin-derived muscle-like cells and blood samples to help researchers create new genetic treatments for people with muscular dystrophy.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Research Inst Nationwide Children's Hosp NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Columbus, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11169977 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
From a patient perspective, the team collects small skin biopsies and blood draws and turns skin cells into muscle-like cells so they can grow and be studied without repeated invasive muscle biopsies. They use a gene-delivery technique (lentiviral delivery of hTERT and MyoD) to make the skin cells more like muscle cells and extend how long they can multiply. The core will store large numbers of these cell lines plus serum and plasma samples and share them with researchers working on muscular dystrophy. The goal is to make testing of genetic corrections faster and more reliable by giving scientists ready access to patient-derived materials.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: People with a diagnosed form of muscular dystrophy who are willing and able to provide a small skin biopsy and blood sample are ideal candidates to contribute.
Not a fit: People without muscular dystrophy, those who cannot provide a sample, or those seeking immediate clinical treatment are unlikely to benefit directly from contributing to the bank.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this resource could speed up development and testing of genetic therapies and reduce the need for repeat invasive muscle biopsies for patients.
How similar studies have performed: The team has previously created and banked several hundred fibroblast and FibroMyoD cell lines under an earlier P50, so the approach has prior success and is now being expanded and improved.
Where this research is happening
Columbus, United States
- Research Inst Nationwide Children's Hosp — Columbus, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Wein, Nicolas — Research Inst Nationwide Children's Hosp
- Study coordinator: Wein, Nicolas
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.