Realizing the Promise of Regenerative Medicine: Growing Tissues and Organs for Transplantation

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Realizing the Promise of Regenerative
MedicineGrowing Tissues and Organs for
Transplantation

• Richard E. Swaja
• Director SC Bioengineering Alliance
• Director Clemson-MUSC Bioengineering
• SC COEE Endowed Chair in Regenerative Medicine
  MUSC
• Conference on Resolving the Shortage of Organs
  for Transplantation
• November 20, 2009

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Regenerative Medicine Tissue Engineering

• Definition Combining principles and methods
  from the physical and engineering sciences,
  medicine, and biology to exploit living cells for
  therapeutic and diagnostic purposes.
• Goal - Develop innovative technologies and
  approaches that will enable repair, replacement,
  or restoration of diseased cells, tissues, and
  organs.
• The Field Biochemistry, Biology, Biomaterials,
  Biomechanics, Computer Science, Engineering,
  Imaging, Informatics, Medicine, and Physics

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The Promise

• Diagnostic Grow tissues in vitro for testing
  drug metabolism, uptake, toxicity, and
  pathogenicity.
• Therapeutic Grow tissues and organs in vivo or
  in vitro for transplantation.
• Vision Industrial-type production of functional
  complex tissues and organs for biomedical
  applications.

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Creating Bioartificial Complex Tissues and Organs
- Biofabrication

• Bioprinting Basis for fabrication
• - Computer-aided, layered deposition of
  materials (hydrogel) and living (stem) cells
• - Different from classic solid scaffold
  followed by cell seeding in bioreactor One step
  compared to two
• - More amenable to complex tissues and
  organs and vascularization

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BioPrinting Using BioInk
BioInk Aggregates of stem cells hydrogel
(morphogens)
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Stem Cells Derived from Fat Tissue
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Induced Pluripotent (iPS) Cells
Transfect 3 genes
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Expand to 10
ADULT HUMAN SKIN CELLS
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Currently Available Industrial Bioprinters
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Creating Bioartificial Complex Tissues and Organs
Vascularization

• Engineering a branched human vascular tree
• - The problem with creating 3D living
  tissues more than 4 cell layers thick
• - Limits tissue engineering benefits to
  avascular structures (cartilage and cardiac
  valves)

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The future of tissue and organ biofabrication
depends on engineering a functional vascular tree
Break 4 cell barrier
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The South Carolina ProjectEngineering a
Vascular Tree
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Roadmap Timeline

2003
2009
2020
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Biofabrication Plus and Minus

• Organs generated using patients stem cells no
  host rejection issues.
• Organs can be tailored to patients specific
  characteristics.
• Capable of industrial-type production.
• Its a big endeavor and it is going to take some
  time, but it will be worth the effort.