There is considerable clinical experience within the centre in the development of custom prosthetics for replacing damaged bone. Despite these modern prosthetic alternatives, however, bone remains a desirable tissue engineering target, as it has good durability and excellent biocompatibility, even when compared to modern surgical implants.
Bone regrowth within the patient's body can be achieved under favourable conditions by implanting calcium salts, possibly formed or contained within a titanium or soluble polymer mesh, directly into the patient's body. Such surgery is common in attempting to correct periodontal disease, which results in loss of bone tissue about the teeth, and eventually the teeth themselves.
Above right: A photograph of a titanium jaw implant; the mesh structure contains calcium salts to encourage bone growth through the implant.
Stem cell research is ongoing to develop therapy for inherited disorders of the skeleton and related disorders of the central nervous system. Stem cells derived from the patient can be genetically engineered to overcome the inherited disorder. The hope is that the cells can then be re-implanted into the patient, where they will assist remission of the symptoms. Studies are currently underway to see how these cells are activated and recruited in the body.
Bone is a complex tissue, which requires mechanical stimulation to develop correctly in the body. Electrospun scaffolds are being nvestigated for the culture of bone tissues in the laboratory. Experiments are underway to see how mechanical stimulation changes the nature of the tissues grown.
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are also being considered as precursors for preparing bone tissue in clinically useful quantities. It is very difficult to engineer bone directly, due to the deterioration of differentiated bone cells (osteocytes) while they are being grown in vitro. It is hoped that the MSCs, once implanted in appropriate locations in the body, will quickly differentiate to generate the required bone tissue.
An alternative technique to preparing clinically useful bone is to tissue engineer its natural precursor - hypertrophic cartilage. This cartilage is naturally mineralised in the body to produce bone. This approach has one major advantage over tissue engineering bone directly - bone requires a complex vascular system to keep the cells in it alive. Assuming a satisfactory vascular system can be developed in vitro, this must then be plumbed into the patient during the transplant to prevent areas of the bone tissue from dying within the patient. Cartilage, by contrast, normally survives without a complex vasculature, relying on diffusion of nutrients and waste products through its matrix. As a consequence fairly substantial blocks of replacement cartilage can be delivered for transplant surgery.
Bone regrowth within the patient's body can be achieved under favourable conditions by implanting calcium salts, possibly formed or contained within a titanium or soluble polymer mesh, directly into the patient's body. Such surgery is common in attempting to correct periodontal disease, which results in loss of bone tissue about the teeth, and eventually the teeth themselves.
Above right: A photograph of a titanium jaw implant; the mesh structure contains calcium salts to encourage bone growth through the implant.
Stem cell research is ongoing to develop therapy for inherited disorders of the skeleton and related disorders of the central nervous system. Stem cells derived from the patient can be genetically engineered to overcome the inherited disorder. The hope is that the cells can then be re-implanted into the patient, where they will assist remission of the symptoms. Studies are currently underway to see how these cells are activated and recruited in the body.
Bone is a complex tissue, which requires mechanical stimulation to develop correctly in the body. Electrospun scaffolds are being nvestigated for the culture of bone tissues in the laboratory. Experiments are underway to see how mechanical stimulation changes the nature of the tissues grown.
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are also being considered as precursors for preparing bone tissue in clinically useful quantities. It is very difficult to engineer bone directly, due to the deterioration of differentiated bone cells (osteocytes) while they are being grown in vitro. It is hoped that the MSCs, once implanted in appropriate locations in the body, will quickly differentiate to generate the required bone tissue.
An alternative technique to preparing clinically useful bone is to tissue engineer its natural precursor - hypertrophic cartilage. This cartilage is naturally mineralised in the body to produce bone. This approach has one major advantage over tissue engineering bone directly - bone requires a complex vascular system to keep the cells in it alive. Assuming a satisfactory vascular system can be developed in vitro, this must then be plumbed into the patient during the transplant to prevent areas of the bone tissue from dying within the patient. Cartilage, by contrast, normally survives without a complex vasculature, relying on diffusion of nutrients and waste products through its matrix. As a consequence fairly substantial blocks of replacement cartilage can be delivered for transplant surgery.
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