Scientists at the University of Southampton have created a new method
to generate bone cells which could lead to revolutionary bone repair
therapies for people with bone fractures or those who need hip
replacement surgery due to osteoporosis and osteoarthritis.
The research, carried out by Dr Emmajayne Kingham at the University of
Southampton in collaboration with the University of Glasgow and
published in the journal Small, cultured human embryonic stem cells on
to the surface of plastic materials and assessed their ability to
change.
Scientists were able to use the nanotopographical patterns on the
biomedical plastic to manipulate human embryonic stem cells towards bone
cells. This was done without any chemical enhancement.
The materials, including the biomedical implantable material
polycarbonate plastic, which is a versatile plastic used in things from
bullet proof windows to CDs, offer an accessible and cheaper way of
culturing human embryonic stem cells and presents new opportunities for
future medical research in this area.
Professor Richard Oreffo, who led the University of Southampton team,
explains: “To generate bone cells for regenerative medicine and further
medical research remains a significant challenge. However we have found
that by harnessing surface technologies that allow the generation and
ultimately scale up of human embryonic stem cells to skeletal cells, we
can aid the tissue engineering process. This is very exciting.
“Our research may offer a whole new approach to skeletal regenerative
medicine. The use of nanotopographical patterns could enable new cell
culture designs, new device designs, and could herald the development of
new bone repair therapies as well as further human stem cell research,”
Professor Oreffo adds.
The study was funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences
Research Council (BBSRC).
This latest discovery expands on the close collaborative work previously
undertaken by the University of Southampton and the University of
Glasgow. In 2011 the team successfully used plastic with embossed
nanopatterns to grow and spread adult stem cells while keeping their
stem cell characteristics; a process which is cheaper and easier to
manufacture than previous ways of working.
Dr Nikolaj Gadegaard, Institute of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology
at the University of Glasgow, says: "Our previous collaborative research
showed exciting new ways to control mesenchymal stem cell – stem cells
from the bone marrow of adults – growth and differentiation on nanoscale
patterns.
“This new Southampton-led discovery shows a totally different stem cell
source, embryonic, also respond in a similar manner and this really
starts to open this new field of discovery up. With more research
impetus, it gives us the hope that we can go on to target a wider
variety of degenerative conditions than we originally aspired to. This
result is of fundamental significance."
Source; University of Southampton, February 11,2013
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