Study Determines MiMedx Allograft Effectively Recruits Circulating Stem and Progenitor Cells

MiMedx Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDXG), an integrated developer, manufacturer and marketer of patent protected regenerative biomaterials and bioimplants processed from human amniotic membrane, announced today; the publication of its latest peer-reviewed scientific study, "Progenitor Cell Recruitment By Dehydrated Human Amnion Chorion Grafts Promotes Neovascularization in a Murine Model of Dermal Ischemia", was electronically published in the Journal of Surgical Research. 

The electronic publication of the peer-reviewed article is now available in the Journal of Surgical Research at http://www.journalofsurgicalresearch.com/article/S0022-4804(14)00803-8/abstract. The paper was authored by Geoffrey C. Gurtner, MD, FACS; Thomas J. Koob, PhD; William W. Li, PhD; Zeshaan N. Mann, MBBS, MS, MRCS; and Robert C. Rennert, BA. The hard copy publication is expected to follow in a future issue of the Journal of Surgical Research.

Chronic non-healing wounds are a growing healthcare burden associated with significant patient morbidity.  It is known that stem cells are vital in normal wound repair and regeneration, and that non-healing wounds suffer from pathologies that can be attenuated by stem cells. A very promising therapeutic approach is the targeting of the dysfunctional neovascular processes which contribute to these wounds. This scientific study was established to confirm that PURION® Processed dehydrated human amnion/chorion membrane (dHACM) effectively targets these dysfunctional neovascular processes by recruiting cells that diminish these dysfunctional processes.

Study Highlights include:

• MiMedx PURION® Processed dHACM effectively recruits circulating and progenitor cells.
• The cells recruited by MiMedx PURION® Processed dHACM express markers of "stemness" and localize to sites of neovascularization, providing a partial mechanism for the clinical efficacy of PURION® Processed dHACM in the treatment of chronic wounds.
• Implanted PURION® Processed dHACM recruited significantly more progenitor cells compared to an untreated control and a decellularized xenograft (PriMatrix®).
• Implanted PURION® Processed dHACM upregulated expression of the major stem cell recruiting factor in the host, thereby amplifying the inherent stem cell recruiting properties of dHACM.

Mr. Pete Petit, Chairman and CEO, said, "The study established that MiMedx PURION® Processed dHACM is a biologically active scaffold that can recruit progenitor cells to a wound and thereby promote angiogenesis. Furthermore, dHACM may act synergistically with recruited cells to attenuate inflammation. The clinical benefits of dHACM may be partially explained by its ability to recruit circulating progenitor cells."

The study tested MiMedx PURION® Processed dHACM allografts for their ability to recruit hematopoietic stem cells and bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells to a surgically implanted dHACM graft in a murine ischemic injury model. Two murine models were used for the study: a wild type model and a parabiosis model. MiMedx PURION® Processed dHACM allografts were surgically implanted subcutaneously in wild mice and the number of hematopoietic stem cells and mesenchymal progenitor recruited to the graft with time after implementation were measured.

Bill Taylor, President and COO, stated, "The study indicates that the principal physiological activity of PURION® Processed dHACM is its ability to recruit and incorporate progenitor cells, thereby, eliminating the need to harvest autologous cells from adipose tissue or bone marrow, or to commercially obtain cryopreserved allogeneic progenitor cells."

PriMatrix® is a registered trademark of its owner.