Human Bone Grown From Stem Cells (Biloine Young @ OTW)
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Scientists at the Israeli biotechnology company Bonus BioGroup Ltd. have grown human bone from stem cells. Using stem cells taken from fat, they grew two-inch-long sections of fully formed living human bone in about a month, according to British science writer Richard Gray in a June 10 article in The Telegraph. The stem cells are grown into bone on a scaffold inside a “bioreactor”—an automated machine that provides the right conditions to encourage the cells to develop into bone. Researchers at the Technion Institute of Research in Israel used three dimensional scans of damaged bone to build the gel-like scaffold.
When scientists inserted about an inch of this laboratory-grown human bone into the middle section of a rat’s leg bone, it successfully merged with the existing animal bone. Bonus BioGroup officials plan to conduct a first trial on patients later this year.
Professor Avinoam Kadouri, head of the scientific advisory board for Bonus BioGroup, explained that the use of three dimensional structures to fabricate the bone in the right shape and geometry allows them to “grow these bones outside the body and then transplant them to the patient at the right time”.
He said,
By scanning the damaged bone area, the implant should fit perfectly and merge with the surrounding tissue. There are no problems with rejection as the cells come from the patient’s own body.
Ultimately, using the stem-cell-grown bone, doctors would be able to replace bones that have been smashed in accidents, fill in defects where bone is missing and perform reconstructive plastic surgery. Dr Shai Meretzki, chief executive of Bonus BioGroup, said that the company hoped to develop the technology in the future to provide replacements for damaged joints such as hips. “It is the same type of technology, but the equipment would be different for bigger bones,” he said.
Bone grafts currently involve taking bone from elsewhere in the patient’s body and transplanting it. This technique requires the patient to undergo two operations. In other cases recombinant bone morphogenic proteins are used to augment bone growth or allograft bone is used.