Microcapsules comprising liver cells and erythropoietin, methods for preparing said microcapsules and methods for treating a patient comprising applying said microcapsules to the patient

Abstract

Microcapsules containing a capsule shell encapsulating a suspension of a therapeutically effective amount of liver cells in physical contact to a liver cell stimulating amount of erythropoietin.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD[0001]The invention relates to microcapsules comprising liver cells and erythropoietin, methods for preparing said microcapsules and methods for treating a patient comprising applying said microcapsules to the patient.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]Although the liver of a healthy subject is able to regenerate itself by repairing or replacing injured or ill tissue, unfortunately once a certain amount of liver cells has died or has been severely damaged through disease or injuries, the whole organ may fail. Such a failure, be it an acute or chronic failure, may cause disease and death. The therapy of liver diseases encompasses conventional means, such as the administration of drugs. However, it is also the state of the art to transplant livers or parts thereof. Furthermore, it is widely known to transplant liver cell populations in patients, such as described for instance in WO 2004 / 009766 A2. It is, however, still a major challenge in devising therapies for curing ac...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The present invention provides a solution for treating liver diseases by encapsulating liver cells in a biocompatible capsule shell and adding erythropoietin, which is a stimulating substance for liver cells. The liver cells and erythropoietin are in physical contact with each other, which allows the erythropoietin to stimulate the liver cells and perform their biological functions in the patient. This treatment approach is safe and effective, as it avoids the risk of allergic or immunological reactions and ensures the patient receives the biological functions of a liver."

Problems solved by technology

Although the liver of a healthy subject is able to regenerate itself by repairing or replacing injured or ill tissue, unfortunately once a certain amount of liver cells has died or has been severely damaged through disease or injuries, the whole organ may fail.

Such a failure, be it an acute or chronic failure, may cause disease and death.

It is, however, still a major challenge in devising therapies for curing acute or chronic hepatic diseases to deliver liver cells to a patient in need thereof, which methods are optimized in terms of viability, engraftment, proliferation and differentiation of the transplanted liver cells in the target tissue.