Research Projects

Diabetic patients are more susceptible to infections due to immune dysregulation and vascular complications, leading to systemic infections and sepsis. To treat these complications, researchers propose engineering mesenchymal stromal cells (MsCs) with curcumin, a polyphenol extracted from the root of Curcuma Longa L. Curcumin has been used to treat inflammatory diseases for decades and can enhance the survivability of MsCs by upregulating their antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic properties. The proposed research aims to design an efficient therapeutic intervention by harnessing the combined properties of MsCs and curcumin and testing its efficacy in a sepsis model of diabetes. The objectives include preconditioning UC-MsCs with curcumin, treating septic diabetic mice with licensed UC-MsCs or conditioned medium, and analyzing the functional consequences of this treatment in terms of molecular signatures and alleviating sepsis-induced complications. The synergistic approach of the proposed project is significant in developing an innovative and efficient therapeutic system by harnessing the properties of both MsCs and curcumin and testing its efficacy in a preclinical diabetes-induced sepsis model.