Engineered Osteoclasts for the Treatment and Prevention of Heterotopic Ossification

: Heterotopic ossification (HO) is the abnormal formation of bone in soft tissues and is a frequent complication in patients who have suffered traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries. Currently there are few effective treatments for this condition. This research seeks to develop engineered osteoclasts as a local cell therapy for the prevention and/or regression of HO. The goals of this research are to develop proof-of-principle data in excised human HO specimens and in an animal model using existing murine engineered osteoclasts and to develop an off-the-shelf human cell source for clinical translation of this technology. To date we have performed studies to optimize the delivery and formation of engineered osteoclasts in vivo. In a pilot study, delivery and activation of engineered osteoclasts at the site of HO formation resulted in a reduction of HO formation. We have also validated a protocol for the production of human CD34+ cells from fibroblasts that we will combine with our CID technology for the production of human engineered osteoclasts.