UNraveling the potentIal of Cell therapies and nanOmedicines for treating peRianal fistula in CrohN’s disease
admin-cespu
Principal Investigator:
Rute Nunes
Leader Institution:
UNIPRO, IUCS-CESPU
Research Team:
José das Neves, Andreia Barros, Alberta Ribeiro, Jeanne Grosset, Lara Vasconcelos,
Funding entity:
CESPU
Budget:
3800 €
Period covered:
01/09/2025-2026
Abstract:
Perianal fistula (PF) is a common complication of Crohn's disease (CD), occurring in around 35% of patients. The symptoms and complications of perianal fistulas can be debilitating and lead to a substantial impairment of patients´ quality of life and increased healthcare costs. Long-term remission rates achieved with conventional treatment, often combined with advanced surgery, remain unsatisfactory. Recently, the administration of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) has shown notable promising results in the treatment of Perianal Fistulizing CD. However, there are several challenges to the clinical application of MSCs. EVs derived from MSCs have the potential to treat fistulizing CD due to their pro-regenerative paracrine signals. In addition to this intrinsic property, EVs can be used to deliver molecules. However, the rapid clearance and short half-life of EV in vivo presents a significant obstacle to clinical translation. This project proposes using MSC-derived EVs in ready-to-use thermosensitive hydrogels to treat PFCD.
Perianal fistula (PF) is a common complication of Crohn's disease (CD), occurring in around 35% of patients. The symptoms and complications of perianal fistulas can be debilitating and lead to a substantial impairment of patients´ quality of life and increased healthcare costs. Long-term remission rates achieved with conventional treatment, often combined with advanced surgery, remain unsatisfactory. Recently, the administration of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) has shown notable promising results in the treatment of Perianal Fistulizing CD. However, there are several challenges to the clinical application of MSCs. EVs derived from MSCs have the potential to treat fistulizing CD due to their pro-regenerative paracrine signals. In addition to this intrinsic property, EVs can be used to deliver molecules. However, the rapid clearance and short half-life of EV in vivo presents a significant obstacle to clinical translation. This project proposes using MSC-derived EVs in ready-to-use thermosensitive hydrogels to treat PFCD.