Oxidized graphene and cell supports in regenerative medicine

Dopaminergic neurons, which produce the neurotransmitter dopamine, are involved in biological processes such as movement, so that their progressive degeneration and death causes Parkinson’s disease, a disorder that affects the nervous system and causes lack of motor coordination, tremors. and muscle stiffness. While it is true that the origin of this pathology is unknown, there are therapies to alleviate its effects and improve the quality of life of patients.

Researchers at the University of Málaga (UMA) have detected that graphene oxide could be the most efficient material for testing new drugs or developing constructs for Parkinson’s disease cell replacement therapy.

Graphene is a nanomaterial consisting of an isolated layer of carbon atoms positioned in a hexagonal shape.

After describing in previous studies that graphene promoted the differentiation of these dopaminergic cells and prevented their loss, the new goal of the UMA research team has been “the search for a cellular support that would allow to cultivate and protect the future stem cells so that they could survive without generating tumor processes or aberrations “, as it indicates Noela Rodríguez Losada, main scientist of the study.

“Our work shows that this material is ideal for generating mobile supports, allowing the proper growth of dopaminergic neurons and promoting the production of a replacement tissue for those neurons damaged by Parkinson’s disease,” says Rodríguez Losada .

The main author of this study, UMA researcher Noela Rodríguez. (Photo: UMA)

The UMA researcher says that graphene is a potential material to generate neuroprostheses for its qualities: it is highly conductive, flexible, biocompatible with cells, cheap to obtain and scalable at the industrial level. Thus, for this research, three subtypes of this nanomaterial were generated: oxidized graphene (GO), partially reduced oxidized graphene (PRGO) and fully reduced graphene (FRGO).

Subsequently, scientists from the Department of Human Physiology at the University of Málaga analyzed both the dust used to generate the different subtypes of graphene and the films of this material. His intention was to study whether it exerted any toxic effects on the cells, as well as their suitability for use as a neuroprosthesis.

“The results showed that the different subtypes of oxidized graphene had a high biocompatibility with dopaminergic cells. Specifically, we showed how PRGO films favored their maturation and protected them when we mimicked the toxic conditions of dopaminergic cells. Parkinson’s disease, “concludes Rodriguez Losada.

The study, entitled “Graphene Oxide and Reduced Derivatives, Powder or Film Scaffolds, Differentially Promote Dopaminergic Neuron Differentiation and Survival,” has been published in the journal Frontiers in Neuroscience, and has had the collaboration of Central Support Services in research (SCAI) of the UMA; of the Department of Biochemistry of the UMA; of Miquel Àngel Arráez, director of the Neurosurgery Unit of the Regional University Hospital of Málaga; of Ernest Arenas, director of Biomedicum laboratory of the Karolinska Institute (Sweden); by Pedro González Alegre, Professor of Neurology at the University of Pennsylvania; of the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the University of Salamanca; and the Norwegian company Abalonyx SL, producer of graphene. (Source: UMA)