Stem cell 'scaffold' developed
2 days ago
Scientists have developed simple technology to grow stem cells in the
lab in conditions similar to the human body.
The development at Durham University allows the cells to grow in
three dimensions, rather than just two on the flat surface of a Petri
dish.
It means drugs can be more successfully tested in the lab, and could
reduce unnecessary testing on animals.
Cells are grown on a scaffold the size of a 10p piece made out of
highly-porous polystyrene, and which looks like a thin white disc.
The design, which has been developed and patented by the university
and its company ReInnervate, has the structure of a sponge and allows
cells to develop in the holes inside.
The developers said growing cells in 3D allows them to behave more
similarly to how they function in the body.
Many drugs fail at the testing stage, costing the pharmaceutical
industry millions of pounds, and many of the failed products are
trialled on cells in a Petri dish.
A study of the effectiveness of the technology appears in the Journal
of Anatomy, and it found that cells grown on the plastic scaffold
stood up more robustly to the toxic effect of a liver cancer drug
called MTX when compared to the cells grown on the flat.
Dr Stefan Przborski, a senior researcher at Durham University and
chief scientific officer at ReInnervate, said: "Our results suggest
that testing drugs on liver cells using our 3D culture system may be
more likely to reflect true physiological responses to toxic
substances.
"Because the 3D cells are cultivated under more realistic conditions,
it means that they function more like real tissues.
"Scientists are therefore able to gain a more accurate idea of how a
drug will behave in the human body - knowledge which can contribute
to improving the efficiency of drug discovery, reducing drug
development costs, and may help reduce the number of animals in
research."
http://ukpress.
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StemCells subscribers may also be interested in these sites:
Children's Neurobiological Solutions
http://www.CNSfoundation.org/
Cord Blood Registry
http://www.CordBlood.com/at.cgi?a=150123
The CNS Healing Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CNS_Healing
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