Steven Wolf, M.D., is professor and vice chair for research in the Department of Surgery at the UT Health Science Center and chief of clinical research at the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research.
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Contact: Will Sansom, (210) 567-2579

SAN ANTONIO (July 31, 2008) — A substance derived from pig bladders is being scrutinized as a potential way to regenerate parts of the body, such as fingers and muscles, that have been lost to battlefield injuries, said Steven Wolf, M.D., of The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

Dr. Wolf, a surgical specialist who treats service personnel and veterans at the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, is also the Betty and Bob Kelso Distinguished Chair in Burn and Trauma Surgery at the UT Health Science Center.

“We plan to try tissue regeneration in three or four patients in the coming months,” he said. “The pig bladder tissue is what we call ‘extracellular matrix,’ an environment for cells that directs them to do what they need to do.”

Two types of patients at the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research, located next to Brooke Army Medical Center, will be treated with a powder formulation of extracellular matrix. “These are patients who either need finger regeneration or muscle regeneration,” Dr. Wolf said. “They will be monitored closely. If it works and doesn’t cause problems, there will be far-reaching applications in all of medicine and for our brave military heroes.

“The standard of care right now is to do nothing,” he added. “This is really an innovative procedure. We will proceed in a regimented fashion to see if it works, whether it can actually fly or not.”

One serviceman so far has received the treatment, a second is scheduled to receive it and two more have agreed to undergo the treatment in the future.

Bone, congenital deficits and organs affected by cancer are among the areas in which this technique could be applied if it works and is safe.

Dr. Wolf is working with several high-profile U.S. researchers in the field of tissue regeneration, including Stephen Badylak, D.V.M., Ph.D., M.D., of the University of Pittsburgh; Anthony Atala, M.D., of Wake Forest University; and C. Mauli Agrawal, Ph.D., of The University of Texas at San Antonio. Dr. Agrawal, an expert in orthopaedic biomedical engineering, is testing whether extracellular matrix can make new bone.

“Extracellular matrix seems to engender cells to make structures consistent with the type of cells they are around — muscle makes more muscle and so forth,” Dr. Wolf said. “It is absolutely exciting, if it works.”

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The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is the leading research institution in South Texas and one of the major health sciences universities in the world. With an operating budget of $576 million, the Health Science Center is the chief catalyst for the $15.3 billion biosciences and health care sector in San Antonio’s economy. The Health Science Center has had an estimated $35 billion impact on the region since inception and has expanded to six campuses in San Antonio, Laredo, Harlingen and Edinburg. More than 23,000 graduates (physicians, dentists, nurses, scientists and allied health professionals) serve in their fields, including many in Texas. Health Science Center faculty are international leaders in cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, aging, stroke prevention, kidney disease, orthopaedics, research imaging, transplant surgery, psychiatry and clinical neurosciences, pain management, genetics, nursing, allied health, dentistry and many other fields. For more information, visit www.uthscsa.edu.

The U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research is part of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command and is co-located with Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. The institute is dedicated to both laboratory and clinical trauma research. Its mission is to provide requirements-driven, combat-casualty-care medical solutions and products for injured soldiers, from self-aid through definitive care across the full spectrum of military operations; to provide state-of-the-art trauma, burn and critical care to Department of Defense beneficiaries around the world and civilians in our trauma region; and to provide Burn Special Medical Augmentation Response Teams. For more information, visit www.usaisr.amedd.army.mil.