Tissue Engineering News and Research

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Dramatic advances in the fields of biochemistry, cell and molecular biology, genetics, biomedical engineering and materials science have given rise to the remarkable new cross-disciplinary field of tissue engineering. Tissue engineering uses synthetic or naturally derived, engineered biomaterials to replace damaged or defective tissues, such as bone, skin, and even organs.

Recellularized colon model helps identify cancer driver genes involved in CRC progression

Genetic mutations are a major cause of cancer, and tracking the role of each gene in cancer pathogenesis has long been an important tool in the fight against a disease that is expected to kill more than 1.6 million people this year.

11 Jul 2016

Innovative nanobubble treatment finds and destroys cancer cells in mice

Innovative technology developed by NIH-funded researchers has been able to find and facilitate the killing of cancer cells in mice without harming the nearby healthy tissue.

7 Jul 2016

Scientists uncover how changes in metabolism of embryonic stem cells can help engineer new blood vessels

Researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have uncovered how changes in metabolism of human embryonic stem cells help coax them to mature into specific cell types — and may improve their function in engineered organs or tissues.

24 Jun 2016

Gamma-ray irradiation improves safety of stem cell transplantation in Parkinson’s disease patients

Replacing dopamine-producing cells in the brain represents a promising therapeutic approach in Parkinson's disease, and a new study shows how post-transplantation gamma-ray irradiation can reduce the risk of tumor formation.

24 Jun 2016

Novel method uses lasers to carve paths inside biocompatible gels

Future medicine is bound to include extensive tissue-engineering technologies such as organs-on-chips and organoids - miniature organs grown from stem cells. But all this is predicated on a simple yet challenging task: controlling cellular behavior in three dimensions.

23 Jun 2016

New effort in biomedical engineering may improve heart repair

Jianyi "Jay" Zhang, M.D., Ph.D., brought his biomedical engineering expertise to the University of Alabama at Birmingham to fix hearts.

9 Jun 2016

UPV researchers develop synthetic models that simulate electromagnetic properties of tissues

Researchers at the Universitat Politècnica de València have developed new synthetic models of human tissues that simulate the electromagnetic properties of different tissues and organs.

6 Jun 2016

New FDA draft guidelines place tighter restrictions on surgical practices using tissue-based regenerative therapies

The therapeutic use of human cell and tissue products is highly regulated by the U.S. government, but a specific exception allows surgeons to harvest, manipulate, and implant tissues in many commonly performed procedures.

2 Jun 2016

New technique to grow blood vessels could accelerate growth of regenerative medicine

In addition the technique to grow the blood vessels in a 3D scaffold cuts down on the risk of transplant rejection because it uses cells from the patient. It was developed by researchers from the University of Bath's Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, working with colleagues at Bristol Heart Institute.

25 May 2016

Synthetic heart valve one step closer to reality

The quest for a synthetic heart valve that faithfully mimics the original is a step closer to its goal with the Rice University find that a natural polymer called hyaluronan, one of the chief components of skin and connective tissue, can serve as a versatile template for growing spongiosa, the middle tissue layer in the valve's leaflets.

12 May 2016

Unique attributes of zebrafish may help study human blood disorders

Genetic regulation of the various types of blood cells in zebrafish and humans is highly similar, making it relatively easy and cost-effective to perform genetic, chemical, imaging and other molecular studies on this invaluable model organism to study normal hematopoetic development in humans as well as blood disorders and malignancies, as described in a Review article in Human Gene Therapy, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

9 May 2016

Globin gene transfer to treat beta-thalassemias shows promise in first clinical trial

Promising results from the first clinical trials of globin gene transfer to treat beta-thalassemias-inherited forms of anemia-have eliminated the need for blood transfusions in some individuals.

6 May 2016

New light-based technique may offer improved treatment for eye problems

Researchers have developed a new light-based technique that selectively stiffens tissue in the cornea and might one day offer improved treatment for eye problems caused by weakened corneal tissue.

5 May 2016

Innovative bone marrow-on-a-chip microdevice holds promise for developing improved radiation countermeasures

Engineered bone marrow grown in a novel microfluidic chip device responds to damaging radiation exposure followed by treatment with compounds that aid in blood cell recovery in a way that mimics living bone marrow.

5 May 2016

New inexpensive technology can effectively sterilise medical implants

International researchers led by the University of Bath have demonstrated a cheap, effective and environmentally-friendly way to sterilise medical implants without changing their properties, in contrast to some techniques.

30 Apr 2016

Curve along edge of tumor may play major role in cancer cell metastasis

Only a few cells in a cancerous tumor are able to break away and spread to other parts of the body, but the curve along the edge of the tumor may play a large role in activating these tumor-seeding cells, according to a new University of Illinois study.

29 Apr 2016

Combination of nanoscale topography and triculture technology benefits large or slow-healing wounds

Large or slow-healing wounds that do not receive adequate blood flow could benefit from a novel approach that combines a nanoscale graft onto which three different cell types are layered. Proper cell alignment on the nanograft allows for the formation of new blood vessel-like structures, as reported in of Tissue Engineering, Part A, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free for download on the Tissue Engineering website until May 26, 2016.

27 Apr 2016

Gladstone scientists bioengineer micro-scale heart tissues from stem cells

Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes have invented a new way to create three-dimensional human heart tissue from stem cells. The tissue can be used to model disease and test drugs, and it opens the door for a precision medicine approach to treating heart disease. Although there are existing techniques to make three-dimensional tissues from heart cells, the new method dramatically reduces the number of cells needed, making it an easier, cheaper, and more efficient system.

21 Apr 2016

Researchers investigate biochemical, physiological characteristics of facial and extraocular muscles

In a new study, a research team at Basel University Hospital in Switzerland investigates the biochemical and physiological characteristics of orbicularis oculi, a group of facial muscles that control the eyelids and are selectively spared or involved in different neuromuscular disorders. What they found also helps to explain why another set of muscles—the extraocular muscles that control the movement of the eye—are not affected by Duchenne muscular dystrophy, congenital muscular dystrophy, and aging.

12 Apr 2016

New study shows link between FZD7 protein and breast cancer development

A new study shows that Frizzled7 (FZD7), a protein present on human breast epithelial cells and a component of the Wnt signaling pathway is uniquely controlled by the Notch signaling pathway, both of which play key roles in mammary gland formation and breast cancer development.

6 Apr 2016