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You would think if we could get something as advanced as brain tissue to grow, then we could also get something as simple as hyaline cartilage to regenerate. I’
by Xcelerate 3y ago
You would think if we could get something as advanced as brain tissue to grow, then we could also get something as simple as hyaline cartilage to regenerate. I’ve been following the research on it for 14 years now since I had a knee injury from running that caused focal cartilage defects, and the rate of progress in the field is absolutely glacial.
The latest research articles in the medical journals are still talking about BMP-2 growth factors and mesenchymal stem cells being the future of cartilage repair, but I now treat this a bit like nuclear fusion in the sense that we always seem to be about 10-20 years away from productionizing it.
From the article:
> The tissue still has enough structure to hold together, but it is soft enough to allow the neurons to grow into each other and start talking to each other,” Zhang said. “Our tissue stays relatively thin, and this makes it easy for the neurons to get enough oxygen and enough nutrients from the growth media.
Seems like this would be great for hyaline cartilage as well, as the tissue is avascular and receives nutrients primarily via diffusion. I don’t have a background in the field, but it would be nice if we could take some of these cutting-edge techniques and attempt to apply them to more mundane things like joint degeneration.
- lmpdev 3y agoAlso not in the field But aren’t these two completely different challenges? Successfully growing the structure of brain tissue is one task But regenerating enough cartilage with enough strength and robustness to support a joint is another challenge altogether? Sort of how chip R&D is famous for some exotic structure like CFETs or graphene transistors being created, but reliable and scalable wafers with a chance of being economically viable is an altogether different feat?
- pazimzadeh 3y agoWhy do you think hyaline cartilage is simple vs. neurons? A neuron is probably a more specialized version of something a lot of cells can do (https://archive.ph/WXcSE https://archive.ph/WXcSE). I think neurons have the benefit of staying relatively differentiated once they mature, whereas for most other tissue, introducing/inducing stem cells runs a higher risk of promoting uncontrolled growth/teratoma/cancer.
- alvarezbjm-hn 3y agoThey didn't print brain tissue, they kinda printed scaffolds for it to grow. "The researchers aimed to construct layered neural tissue in which neural progenitor cells (NPCs) mature ..." Don't trust this kind of source for titles. About cartilage. That is a very specific configuration of materials in not a random shape. Also, it must want to attach to the bone by itself, and source its nutrients from synovial liquid. Sounds too complicated for what I know we can do. About human cells growing in a petri dish. Thats pretty much cancer right there. In such an alien environment, healthy cells expect something to kill them, and if enough changes happen without that, they will suicide. Growing hearts in pigs is much closer to something viable.
- lookdangerous 3y agoLook up knees over toes guy - it's not regenerated hyaline cartilage, but if you're not familiar you _may_ find it interesting.