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/
Media courtesy: Northwestern University.
