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Nikunj Satani

Nikunj Satani

Associate Member

Assistant Professor

713-500-7017713-500-7017
[email protected]
MSB 7.226

The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
McGovern Medical School
Department of Neurology

Dr. Satani’s current areas of research revolve around understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in ischemic stroke after cellular therapy. He is keen on exploring and understanding the contributions of peripheral organs in brain recovery after stroke. Cell based therapies represent a promising therapeutic approach to enhance stroke recovery. Various research groups have found that bone marrow derived mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) improve stroke recovery in experimental animal models. Despite promising results, detailed mechanisms of how MSCs enhance recovery remain unclear. The majority of intravenously (IV) administered MSCs are entrapped in the lungs, while remaining MSCs migrate to liver and spleen, only few cells reach the brain. Studies have shown that while MSCs are short-lived in lungs, their beneficial effects extend for weeks, suggesting that some lung cells are modified by MSCs to deliver endocrine effects that target inflammation and provide trophic responses. Others have tried to improve lung passage of MSCs after IV administration, without considering that this entrapment could in fact be the contributing factor to MSC-mediated benefit. Hence, the main goal of this project is to study the importance of lung-brain crosstalk after IV administration of MSCs in brain recovery.

Keywords: Stem cell therapy, Stroke, Vascular Dementia

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UTHealth Faculty

Education & Training

M.B.B.S.(Equivalent to United States MD), Gujarat University, 2008
MPH, UT School of Public Health, 2013

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