Researchers from ETH Zurich, the Friedrich Miescher Institute in Basel and the Cantonal Hospital of Lucerne have produced elastic ear cartilage from human cells in the laboratory. The engineered cartilage shows mechanical properties close to natural tissue and was reported in the journal Advanced Functional Materials.
The team began with small cartilage remnants removed during corrective operations and expanded the cells in a nutrient solution. About 100,000 cells can be isolated from a piece roughly three millimetres across, yet a printed ear requires several hundred million cells. To address this gap they optimised cell proliferation, adjusted material properties and increased cell density while developing a culture environment that supplies nutrients and oxygen to the printed structure.
- Optimised cell proliferation
- Adjusted material properties
- Increased cell density
- Controlled the maturation environment
They tested growth factors to encourage cell division and to avoid cells turning into fibroblasts, which would form fibrocartilage rather than elastic cartilage. After about nine weeks of pre-maturation the constructs were implanted under the skin of rats and stayed stable after six weeks, though elastin did not mature fully. The experiments take roughly three to four months, and the team hopes to find the blueprint for the elastin network within the next five years before moving to clinical studies and formal approval.
Difficult words
- cartilage — firm, flexible tissue in ears and joints
- optimise — change something to make it work betteroptimised
- proliferation — rapid increase in number of cells
- fibroblast — a cell that makes connective tissue fibresfibroblasts
- elastin — a protein that gives tissue elastic properties
- construct — an engineered tissue or structure made in labconstructs
- maturation — process by which cells become fully developedpre-maturation
- implant — placing tissue or device into the bodyimplanted
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Discussion questions
- What do you think are the biggest scientific challenges the team still faces before clinical trials?
- How could producing ear cartilage in the lab affect patients who need reconstructive surgery?
- Which safety or ethical concerns should researchers consider when moving from animal tests to human studies?
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