In 2020, after a pandemic-related shortage left a common laboratory gel unavailable, a PhD student at UC Santa Barbara and her adviser engineered a synthetic membrane to support mammary epithelial cells. Their goal was a tunable platform that models the basement membrane—the thin protein mesh that surrounds epithelial cells—and overcomes limits of traditional commercial products, many of which are extracted from mouse tumours.
The group developed an algae-based gel and published their findings in Science Advances. They tuned the material by testing short peptide sequences and by altering crosslinking and polymer-chain length. These adjustments changed stiffness and the gel's response to applied force, which helped the team separate mechanical effects from biochemical cues. By combining different signals, they could either support healthy mammary gland development or reproduce conditions that make cells more likely to become cancerous.
Under suitable conditions, cells in the gel produced their own basement membrane; with inappropriate cues they produced other proteins and failed to develop correctly. Stowers and colleagues plan to probe how far control of initial gel conditions can shape development, including the possibility of growing complex tissues or organs from patient cells. They argue that an engineering approach to developmental biology could reveal ways to guide formation of functional engineered tissues. Source: UC Santa Barbara
- Modifications used: peptide cues, crosslinking, polymer length
- Key outcomes: tunable mechanical and biochemical control
- Potential: grow complex tissues from patient cells
Difficult words
- basement membrane — thin protein layer under epithelial cells
- epithelial — relating to cells that line body surfaces
- tunable — able to be adjusted for different conditions
- engineer — design or build a system or structureengineered, engineering
- peptide — short chain of amino acids
- crosslink — form chemical bonds between polymer chainscrosslinking
- polymer — large molecule made of repeating small unitspolymer-chain
- cue — signal that affects cell behavior or responsecues
- stiffness — how much a material resists being deformed
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- What are the advantages of using an engineered, algae-based gel instead of commercial products extracted from animals? Give reasons based on the article.
- How might the ability to tune mechanical and biochemical signals help researchers grow complex tissues from a patient’s cells? Give one or two possible benefits.
- What ethical or practical issues should scientists consider if they try to grow organs from patient cells using engineered gels?
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