Abstract:

Work in our laboratory aims to understand how tactile information is encoded and processed in the early stages of the nervous system. We use the rat whisker system as a model because the neural processing pathways are analogous to human tactile pathways through the spinal cord and because whiskers are relatively easy to observe and manipulate.

Rats are nocturnal, burrowing animals with poor vision. To tactually explore the world, rats brush their whiskers rhythmically against objects between 5 and 25 times per second. Using only its whiskers, a rat can determine an object's size, shape, orientation, and texture. About 30 whiskers are arranged in a regular array on each side of the rat’s face. The base of each whisker is embedded within a densely innervated follicle where mechanoreceptors transduce deformations to electrical signals and provide input to the brain.

This talk will consist of two parts. In the first, I will describe recent advances our laboratory has made in understanding how rats explore objects with their whiskers, and steps we are taking to understand how the nervous system processes this tactile information. In the second, I will describe some possible applications of tactile sensing with whiskers.

Instead of presenting "conclusions" of the talk, I will raise a series of questions to inspire brainstorming and discussion with the audience, with the aim of finding new - possibly clinically relevant - applications. It will be particularly interesting to work with the audience to determine whether there may be clinical applications based on ideas our laboratory has about how the nervous system processes information.

Biosketch:

Prof. Mitra J. Hartmann received a Bachelor of Science in Applied and Engineering Physics from Cornell University, and a PhD in Integrative Neuroscience from the California Institute of Technology. From 2000 - 2003 she was a postdoctoral scholar in the Bio-Inspired Technology and Systems group at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Prof. Hartmann joined the faculty at Northwestern University in 2003 and is presently an Associate Professor with a 50-50 joint appointment between the departments of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering. She is also a member of Northwestern's Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program (NUIN).

Abstract:

As the population ages and the acute mortality from cardiovascular disease decreases, a large population of patients is emerging who have symptomatic chronic ischemic vascular disease, many of whom remain severely symptomatic despite exhausting conventional medical therapy and mechanical revascularization. In addition, mounting evidence suggests that microvascular insufficiency plays a significant role in the pathophysiology of ischemia. At the present time, there are no therapies that directly address the needs of this patient population.

Pre-clinical and early clinical data indicate that a variety of growth factors and stem/progenitor cells may be employed therapeutically for repair of ischemic tissue.

Preclinical studies documented the potential therapeutic potency of endothelial progenitor cells, both as cultured and freshly isolated cells. Early phase clinical trials using a variety of approaches have been completed providing data of feasibility, safety and bioactivity. Later phase trials are under way. Accordingly, the goal of ischemic tissue repair appears feasible and is being approached in human clinical trials.

We performed a phase II randomized controlled trial of autologous CD34 cell therapy in 167 patients with refractory, class 3 and 4 angina who were not candidates for revascularization. The results of this study will be presented.

The evolution of the strategy of ischemic tissue repair will require an ongoing dialogue between clinicians, scientists, regulators and industry to take full advantage of advances in our understanding of the biology of these processes and their appropriate application to patients.

Bio:

Douglas W. Losordo, MD is the director of the Feinberg Cardiovascular Research Institute and the Eileen M. Foell Professor of Heart Research at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine and director of the Program in Cardiovascular Regenerative Medicine at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. He is board-certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease, and interventional cardiology and is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American College of Physicians, the American College of Chest Physicians, and the Society for Cardiac Angiography and Interventions.

Dr. Losordo‘s major research interests encompass angiogenesis/ vasculogenesis, progenitor/adult stem cells, tissue repair/regeneration, and vascular biology. A native of New York City, he received his medical degree from the University of Vermont. Dr. Losordo completed an internship, residency and fellowship at St. Elizabeth’s Medical, Boston, Massachusetts where he subsequently joined the faculty, working with the late Jeff Isner to develop a program in therapeutic angiogenesis and cell based tissue repair. Dr. Losordo‘s group has executed the full “translational medicine” paradigm, identifying novel therapeutics in the laboratory, developing these strategies in small and large animal models and designing and executing first in human clinical trials. Examples include VEGF gene therapy for myocardial ischemia and diabetic neuropathy, and CD34+ cell therapy for refractory angina and severe claudication. Dr. Losordo has also trained numerous scientists and physician scientists from around the world.