Nature has endowed some animals with the ability to regenerate parts of their body, a kind of natural superpower that has long been envied by science and human biology. In some species such as reptiles, this regenerative ability is very useful for their survival, allowing them to replace a limb or just get rid of their tail as a fleeing device in case of danger, over time this tail will regenerate as if by natural magic.
In the case of humans nothing similar happens, losing some limb or part of our body we are forced to replace them in an artificial way and if it is an important organ the result is fatal in most cases.
Human beings constantly replace our cells as they degenerate, this process is slowed down as we age, but it continues to occur throughout our lives.
This cellular regeneration can be seen in one of our organs, the skin, which loses its entire outer layer every two or four weeks, this is equivalent to 150 grams of dead skin cells per year.
However, complete regeneration of organs or limbs is beyond the reach of human biology. Many scientists worldwide are working hard to make advances in this field, and in recent years have managed to grow similar structures called "Organoids" that serve to study the function and structure of human organs in a level of detail that was previously impossible .
These experimental organs are created on a small scale, to facilitate their study and to better understand how they work, some have been tested in animals and humans, and have made great strides in their research. I will now tell you about some of these achievements of science.
Ear
Scientists have been able to create cartilage from the human ear using 3D printing, the study was conducted at Cornell University in the United States, where a 3D impression mold was used which was injected with live cells and collagen from cows.
Around the mold began to grow a functional human ear that can be used to replace the ears of children with deformities due to illness or trauma.
The cultured ears were transplanted into the backs of living laboratory rats to study their growth and evolution over time. Although strange sounds are not the first time scientists use this method to study some artificial organ.
Esophagus
The esophagus is an organ that is responsible for bringing food and water to the stomach, well, at the Kuban State Medical University in Krasnodar, Russia, a group of scientists have managed to build a functional esophagus from stem cells. This was implanted in rats, functioning as well as the natural organs of rodents.
This experiment was based on removing a section of the esophagus from a rat and then extracting the stem cells, resulting in a protein scaffold, which was then implanted with special stem cells that did not cause an immune reaction in the tissue.
This allowed the esophagus to grow for three weeks, then test its strength and flexibility using repeated cycles of atonement and contraction about 10,000 times by pumping air.
The artificial structures were implanted in 9 more rats, subjecting them to a liquid diet for several days, replacing up to 20 percent of the original organs of the animals.
Fallopian Tube
In this experiment, stem cells were also used to create the inner layers of human Fallopian Tubes. The study was carried out by the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology in Berlin.
The fallopian tubes are responsible for connecting the ovaries with the uterus and according to the report the study was able to replicate structures that have the same characteristics and forms that are particular of real-life human fallopian tubes.
Mini Brain
Scientists at Ohio State University (OSU) fabricated a lab-sized mini-brain that is the size of a pencil eraser, this miniature brain is structurally and genetically similar to the brain of a human fetus. 5 weeks of age.
This new Organoids have functional neuronal structures that are capable of transmitting signals and is the most complete human brain model ever developed. It is made from adult stem cells of human skin.
“It not only looks like the developing brain, its diverse cell types express nearly all genes like a brain. We’ve struggled for a long time trying to solve complex brain disease problems that cause tremendous pain and suffering. The power of this brain model bodes very well for human health because it gives us better and more relevant options to test and develop therapeutics other than rodents.”said study leader Rene Anand.
Mini Heart
Scientists using stem cells managed to beat a tiny heart muscle by inducing cells, through biochemical and biophysical indicators, to reorganize and differentiate, creating micro chambers with connective tissue that makes its functionality possible.
Kevin Healy, a professor of bioengineering at the University of California, Berkeley, and lead co-author of the study says that through this system tools can be developed to detect drugs that can cause congenital heart defects and make more Safe delivery of drugs during pregnancy.
Vagina
This development is one of the most successful in what has artificial organ transplants created in laboratories is concerned. It was published in 2014, the study is about the research of a group of scientists who developed vaginas In a laboratory that were transplanted to 4 patients and that so far are working properly.
These young women underwent multiple operations before receiving the transplant because they suffered from a rare genetic disease in which the vagina and uterus are underdeveloped or absent.
Scientists manufactured the vaginas from the patient's' own cells, then implanted them into her body. Patients have been on constant examinations for the last 8 years and so far the treatment has been successful. Young people have a normal life and are sexually active.
Windpipe
Harvard Apparatus Regenerative Technology (HART) has carried out extensive development of human organ regeneration processes, and this time has been responsible for transplanting a laboratory-grown trachea to a terminal cancer patient.
The method used in this process was again the stem cells, which were fixed to a specific base mold designed to fit the patient's trachea, taking the shape of it. This structure is made of a plastic polymer that serves as a structure for fixing the new cells that make up the new organ.
Sources
- https://www.livescience.com/59675-body-parts-grown-in-lab.html
- http://news.berkeley.edu/2015/07/14/early-human-heart-development-stem-cells-model/
- https://news.osu.edu/news/2015/08/18/human-brain-model/
- http://www.vix.com/es/btg/curiosidades/8845/5-partes-del-cuerpo-que-los-cientificos-pueden-hacer-crecer-en-un-laboratorio
- http://www.vix.com/es/btg/curiosidades/65027/hacia-los-humanos-artificiales-10-partes-del-cuerpo-que-los-cientificos-ya-han-recreado-en-el-laboratorio
- https://actualidad.rt.com/ciencias/view/100851-partes-cuerpo-bioingenieria-medicina