Can Stem Cell Secretions Improve Muscle Strength In Old Age?

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There is an increasing amount of evidence to show that many of the benefits of stem cells therapies don’t come from the cells themselves, but rather from the various signalling molecules they secrete. We wrote an entire article about exosomes, which are the microscopic membrane packages released by stem cells, and contain signalling molecules and genetic information. Stem cell secretions appear to replicate most of the important benefits of stem cell therapy, such as promoting tissue regeneration. The advantages of these cell-free therapies would be numerous, including being far easier to produce at scale and being less risky due to the absence of potentially cancerous stem cells.

While promising, these therapies are still undergoing clinical trials and it remains to be seen whether they actually prove more effective treatments than previous attempts with stem cells. One such clinical trial recently announced some promising results with their stem cell secretion, called IMM01-STEM. Here’s what the trial involved and what they reported.

What is IMM01-STEM?

We don’t know a huge amount about this product, other than the fact that it is collected from partially differentiated human stem cell cultures. The cells are cultured in a proprietary growth medium and directed to become ‘highly pure populations of defined cells’. The secretions of these cells (the secretome) is then harvested and processed to ensure that no cells remain.

What were the aims of the study?

This was a phase 2 clinical trial, the purpose of which was to test both the safety and efficacy of IMM01-STEM in elderly (60-80 year-old) people with obesity (which was defined according to waist circumference and wast-to-hip ratio) and muscle weakness (as measured by grip strength). The study monitored body composition and muscle strength, as well as markers of metabolic and immune function.

What did the study entail?

47 participants were split into 5 groups, 1 to receive saline solution as a placebo and the others to receive various doses of IMM01-STEM via two intramuscular injections per week, for 4 weeks. They were then followed up for around 12 weeks. The researchers measured participants’ gait speed over time, as well as their grip strength, body composition (measured using a DXA scan, which estimates body composition by looking at X-ray absorption) and physical activity as recorded by wearable devices.

The findings

IMM0-STEM treatment was associated with a 26% increase in gait speed compared to the placebo treatment – a 0.12 m/s increase over their starting speed after 4 weeks and a 0.16 m/s increase at the end of the follow-up period. Gait speed is a measure of overall mobility and is dependent on multiple systems including muscle strength, lung function and balance and coordination. While 0.16 m/s might not sound like a lot, it does exceed the ‘clinically meaningful’ threshold of 0.1 m/s and should translate to improved quality of life.

Unfortunately, information about other outcomes such as body composition hasn’t been released yet.

The implications

These are promising early results suggesting that IMM0-STEM could improve physical function in older adults. It follows from other clinical trial results showing that IMM0-STEM is associated with reduced pain and improved physical function in osteoarthritis patients (without any safety concerns), as well as mouse studies showing that IMM0-STEM boosts muscle stem cell populations and increases muscle mass.