Now Ovarian Tissue paper to support normal hormonal production: Breakthrough in Regenerative Medicine

An accidental Spill has sparked a breakthrough in the field of regenerative medidicne. Scientists and engineers at the Northwestern Medicine have invented a range of bioactive “tissue papers” made from organs combined with a polymer to make them so pliable.

These new “tissue papers” are so thin and pliable that they can be folded into an origami bird. Their clinical application is for wound healing and aid in natural hormone production in young cancer patients.

The desired organ is first broken up into tiny pieces, decellularized and the resulting sticky semifluid matter, is dried. After it dehydrates completely it is made into a powder and combined with polymer to form thin sheets.

The study was published in Journal of Advance Functional Material on August 7, 2017. In the study, animal organs were used to make individual papers made from ovarian, uterine, kidney, liver, muscle or heart proteins. Each tissue paper retained the cellular and biochemical properties of organ it was derived from.

Ramille Shah, the corresponding author for the paper and assistant professor of surgery at the Feinberg School of Medicine and an assistant professor of materials science and engineering at McCormick School of Engineering said in a Northwestern news release , “This new class of biomaterials has potential for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine as well as drug discovery and therapeutics. It’s versatile and surgically friendly.”

The tissue paper will provide the necessary framework and cell signaling needed to help regenerate tissue to prevent scarring and accelerate healing.

In lab experiment, the tissue paper made from bovine ovary was used to grow follicles that produced eggs and hormones for proper function and maturation.

Teresa Woodruff, coauthor and director of the Oncofertility Consortium and the Thomas J. Watkins Memorial Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Feinberg said, “This could provide another option to restore normal hormone function to young cancer patients who often lose their hormone function as a result of chemotherapy and radiation.”

Menopausal women or women with cancers could benefit by hormones produced by such tissue papers implanted in the body.

In addition, the tissue paper supported the growth of human stem cells, creating multiple clinical application in future of regenerative medicine.

The so called “tissue papers” look and behave like normal papers, they can be folded or stacked like office papers. In vivo, when wet, they retain the mechanical strength and can be rolled, folded or sutured to tissue.

The organ tissue paper was accidentally discovered when Adam Jakus working on making  3-D printable ovary ink, which spilled and dried up into a dry sheet.

“When I tried to pick it up, it felt strong,” Jakus said. “I knew right then I could make large amounts of bioactive materials from other organs. The light bulb went on in my head. I could do this with other organs.”

One day it could be used to repair muscles while doing surgery or as a sophisticated wound dressing after surgery.

Here’s a video from Northwestern showing off the new tissue papers.

                              Origami Organs' can potentially regenerate tissues

Sources:

https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2017/august/origami-organs-can-potentially-regenerate-tissues/

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adfm.201700992/full

Media courtesy: Northwestern University.