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Realizing the Promise of Regenerative Medicine: Growing Tissues and Organs for Transplantation. Richard E. Swaja Director – SC Bioengineering Alliance Director – Clemson-MUSC Bioengineering SC COEE Endowed Chair in Regenerative Medicine – MUSC
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Realizing the Promise of Regenerative Medicine:Growing Tissues and Organs for Transplantation Richard E. Swaja Director – SC Bioengineering Alliance Director – Clemson-MUSC Bioengineering SC COEE Endowed Chair in Regenerative Medicine – MUSC Conference on Resolving the Shortage of Organs for Transplantation November 20, 2009
Regenerative Medicine –Tissue Engineering • Definition – Combining principles and methods from the physical and engineering sciences, medicine, and biology to exploit living cells for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes. • Goal - Develop innovative technologies and approaches that will enable repair, replacement, or restoration of diseased cells, tissues, and organs. • The Field – Biochemistry, Biology, Biomaterials, Biomechanics, Computer Science, Engineering, Imaging, Informatics, Medicine, and Physics
The Promise • Diagnostic – Grow tissues in vitro for testing drug metabolism, uptake, toxicity, and pathogenicity. • Therapeutic– Grow tissues and organs in vivo or in vitro for transplantation. • Vision – Industrial-type production of functional complex tissues and organs for biomedical applications.
Creating Bioartificial Complex Tissues and Organs - Biofabrication Bioprinting – Basis for fabrication - Computer-aided, layered deposition of materials (hydrogel) and living (stem) cells - Different from classic solid scaffold followed by cell seeding in bioreactor – One step compared to two - More amenable to complex tissues and organs and vascularization
BioPrinting Using “BioInk” BioInk = Aggregates of stem cells + hydrogel (morphogens)
Induced Pluripotent (iPS) Cells Transfect 3 genes 7 Expand to 10 ADULT HUMAN SKIN CELLS
Creating Bioartificial Complex Tissues and Organs – Vascularization Engineering a branched human vascular tree - “The” problem with creating 3D living tissues more than 4 cell layers thick - Limits tissue engineering benefits to avascular structures (cartilage and cardiac valves)
The future of tissue and organ biofabrication depends on engineering a functional vascular tree Break 4 cell barrier
Roadmap & Timeline 2003 2009 2020
Biofabrication – Plus and Minus • Organs generated using patient’s stem cells – no host rejection issues. • Organs can be tailored to patient’s specific characteristics. • Capable of industrial-type production. • It’s a big endeavor and it is going to take some time, but it will be worth the effort.