Magic Dust or Pixie Dust, it looks like ECM powders are truly something magical, and are staged to aid mankind with growing organs, tissue engineering, moist wound healing and nanotechnology.
Presentation: Human extracellular matrix (ECM) powders for inject-able cell delivery and adipose tissue engineering.
Introduction to ECM and Injectable Cell Delivery Carriers :
Here, we present extracellular matrix (ECM) powders derived from human adipose
tissue as injectable cell delivery carriers for adipose tissue engineering. We
postulate that human adipose tissue may provide an ideal biomaterial because it
contains large amounts of ECM components including collagen. Fresh human adipose
tissue was obtained by a simple surgical operation (liposuction). After removing
blood and oil components, the tissue was homogenized, centrifuged, freeze-dried,
and ground to powders by milling.
In Vitro ECM Powders Study
In an in vitro study, the human ECM powders were highly effective for promotion of cell attachment and proliferation for three-dimensional (3D) cell culture. In in vivo studies, suspensions of human ECM powders containing human adipose-derived stem cells (hASCs) were subcutaneously injected into nude mice. At eight weeks post-injection, numerous blood vessels were observed and the newly formed tissue exhibited adipogenesis with accumulated intracellular small lipid droplets. Overall, the grafts showed well-organized adipose tissue constructs without any signs of tissue necrosis, cystic spaces, or fibrosis. We believe that human ECM powders could act as efficient injectable biomaterials for tissue engineering and have great potential for meeting clinical
challenges in regenerative medicine, particularly in relation to adipose tissue engineering.
Learn more here.
The latest news in Stem Cells Transplant is the growing, harvesting and installation of a full wind pipe into a Swedish patient. Apparently no rejection has occurred, and the patient is doing well.
Stem Cells and Scaffolds
Scaffolding was used as a framework for the Stem Cells to grow around and form the Trachea implant. The Scaffold is made of muscle and cartilage. Apparently it only took two days to grow the Windpipe implant using highly controversial Stem Cells, the new tissue is fully formed around the scaffolding.
The patient had cancer of the windpipe, and another person who was doomed to die, is now expected to live a full and fruitful life.
The windpipe is 4-5 inches long hollow tube that leads to the lungs. A test version was first modeled with plastic like materials, to assure a good fit for the patient.
Future Looks Bright for Growing Organs Using Stem Cell Technology
This is really a fantastic breakthrough in Stem Cells Transplants, and the future looks bright for the the growing and harvesting of human organs.
Can we Build More Complex Organs using Scaffolding Technology
The question is, can we build organs that require complex functionality like the heart or kidney. We may need to move beyond simply building Scaffolds and forming tissue around it, to more complex structures – perhaps nanotechnology or genetic engineering combined with some of these the Stem Cell and ECM Powder techniques.
Video Highlight: Swedish Man Gets Windpipe Transplant Using Stem Cells and Scaffolds
Discussions on ECM Powders