The project "Repurposing CRISPR for disc regeneration", led by the researcher Joana Caldeira, from the Microenvironments for New Therapies group, was recently recognized by Eurospine and received funding of €25,000 to develop a new therapeutic strategy for lower back pain.

The financing obtained for the project, which includes the participation of i3S researchers Raquel Gonçalves, Mário Barbosa, and Carla Oliveira - and Paulo Pereira and Rui Vaz (director) from the Neurosurgery Service at Centro Hospitalar S. João and the external consultant Rui Lopes (Novartis), will improve existing stem cell therapies using innovative technologies to regenerate the intervertebral disc.

Lumbar pain, which affects the majority of the population at some point in their life, is often caused by the degeneration of the intervertebral disc that occurs with aging. Existing treatment options include drugs to control pain or very invasive surgeries, which in most cases do not have long-term solutions. The idea of the project is to adapt a gene-editing technology (CRISPR-Cas9) to disc regeneration. "Our goal", says the researcher, "is to use this innovative tool to recreate a fetal microenvironment, which we have already proven to have greater regenerative potential. This way, we believe it is possible to improve existing therapies with stem cells, providing them with a more ‘welcoming’ environment to survive and perform their therapeutic function".

Although not fatal, lower back pain is the main cause of disability / disability in Portugal and is the number one cause for the loss of years of life, ahead of other factors such as HIV, road accidents, tuberculosis, lung cancer, or even complications associated with pregnancy and postpartum conditions, says Joana Caldeira. For all these reasons, she continued, "it has a tremendous socio-economic impact because of the high costs associated with treatment and absenteeism. In the United States, for example, 149 million workdays are lost each year because of this condition, with annual costs ranging from $100 to $200 billion". For the researcher Joana Caldeira, this award "means the rewarded effort and recognition of my work at the European level. It makes us feel that we are on the right track. At the Institute we have talked a lot about stories behind the resumes and sometimes we have to sweat a lot and bang our head against the door several times until we win. What it takes is not to give up and always believe. This funding, whose success results from the work of a multidisciplinary team, will allow me to spread my wings and launch myself into new adventures".