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Realizing the Promise of
Regenerative Medicine:
Growing 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
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
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.
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
BioPrinting Using “BioInk”
BioInk = Aggregates of stem cells + hydrogel (morphogens)
Stem Cells Derived from Fat Tissue
Induced Pluripotent (iPS) Cells
Transfect 3 genes
7
Expand to 10
ADULT HUMAN SKIN CELLS
Currently Available Industrial Bioprinters
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)
The future of tissue and organ
biofabrication depends on engineering
a functional vascular tree
Break 4 cell
barrier
The South Carolina Project:
Engineering a Vascular Tree
Roadmap & Timeline
2003
2009
2020
Biofabrication – Plus and Minus
Organs generated using patient’s stem cells
– no host rejection issues.
Organs can be tailored to patient’s specific
characteristics.
Capable of industrial-type production.
It’s a big endeavor and it is going to take
some time, but it will be worth the effort.