Research
The Plastic Surgery Departments Center for Tissue Engineering (CTE) laboratory focuses on creating innovative new medical devices, investigating causes and reversal of fibrosis, studying nuances in adipose stem cell behavior, oxygenated wound healing solutions and cartilage framework development. Most projects have adipose derived stem cells as the central focus for the cellular work with multiple projects emanating from this core focus.
All projects and protocols are designed with a translational bias with relatively low barriers of entry to the market place. In conjunction with our academic partners, in the main, biomedical engineers, many projects involve the design of medical devices to serve these translational purposes.
Thus CTE is actively involved in the following projects:
- Dupuytren’s disease, a fibroproliferative disorder that affects the palm, fingers, and feet, causing a stiff, persistent flexion of the fingers due to contracting fibrous cords. The pathogenesis of Dupuytren’s contracture involves pathologic myofibroblasts in the palmar fascia, which secrete abnormal collagens and induce contraction. CTE has investigated the use of PRP (platelet rich plasma), adipose derived stem cells, growth factors and small molecules to reprogram myofibroblasts to transform into adipocyte-like cells thus converting scar tissue to fat tissue.
- Stress induction of adipose lipoaspirate to yield high proportions of progenitor cells useful for fat graft enrichment (reconstruction, breast etc, aesthetic indications) and for therapeutic autologous use in diabetic foot ulceration and wound healing. The stress induction device has been designed in conjunction with Haun laboratory (BME, UCI)
- Development of ‘bubbled’ oxygenated solution for use in wound healing, tissue transplantation storage solution, acute major trauma injuries and in vitro laboratory settings for increasing exposure to oxygenated solutions. Device designed for oxygen generation in collaboration with BME
- Collaborative partnership with Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation (MTF) exploring the use of acellular adipose derived matrices in fat generation, wound healing and tissue engineered frameworks.
- Generation of cartilage engineered frameworks using unique adipose derived matrices, chondrocytes and adipose derived stem cells. Collaborative effort with MTF, IDME, BME, UCI (3-D printing).
- ADSCs glycolysis and angiogenesis – exploring glucose production by ADSCs and uptake by human umbilical vascular endothelial cells (HUVEC) correlating with sprouting and angiogenesis.
Our robust research program involves undergraduate, post-graduate and experienced researchers working on a wide range of exciting and unique research projects. If you are affiliated with a research institution interested in collaborative opportunities or would like more information about the Department of Plastic Surgery’s CTE research projects, please contact:
Alan Widgerow, MBBCh, FCS, MMed, FACS
Director, Center for Tissue Engineering
Department of Plastic Surgery
UC Irvine Health School of Medicine
714-456-3482
awidgero@hs.uci.edu