The Science
How fetomaternal microchimerism becomes a scalable IV-deliverable cell therapy for brain repair.
The Science
TET Therapeutics is built on fetomaternal microchimerism, a well-documented biological phenomenon in which CCR2-high myeloid progenitors cross the blood-brain barrier during pregnancy and home to sites of maternal brain injury via the CCL2/CCR2 chemoattractant axis. We are engineering this natural repair mechanism and other therapeutically valuable properties of these CCR2-high myeloid progenitors into a scalable, IV-deliverable cell therapy.
Why IV delivery?
Competing cell therapies for brain repair require direct surgical injection into the brain, costing up to $260,000 per patient in surgical and hospitalization costs alone. IV delivery eliminates that entirely, enabling outpatient administration and dramatically expanding access. It also enables distributed manufacturing and a fundamentally different cost structure.
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CCL2/CCR2 Axis
Validated chemoattractant mechanism driving fetal cell recruitment to maternal brain injury sites
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Myeloid Lineage
Brain-homing FMC cells are CD34⁺CD11b⁺CCR2-high — myeloid, not MSC
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IV Delivery
Outpatient infusion vs. invasive brain surgery and hospitalization, costing up to $260,000
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TBI → Brain Repair
TBI is the beachhead. Platform extends to other CNS injuries such as ischemic stroke and neonatal HIE
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Published Biology
Fetal cell trafficking to brain injury is published and peer-reviewed; replicating it in our own system is a core early milestone.
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Syncytin
Potential role in fetal cell implantation and persistence — active area of investigation