Scientists Create Artificial Bone Marrow
Author: tiger Published Under: Health
Researchers at the University of Michigan have recently announced the creation of artificial bone marrow that is capable of producing blood. The discovery could change the way clinical trials are carried out for medicines, such as those used to treat cancer, which commonly damage or kill the bodies existing bone marrow. It could also result in a steady supply of blood to be used in transfusions.
This is the first time that bone marrow has been artificially created and it is grown on a special 3-D scaffold, which was created solely for this project. The scaffold provides a place for the marrow to grow that closely mimics the environment found inside the body.
The scaffold itself is made out of a transparent polymer. Many tiny balls are mixed with the polymer, then dissolved. When the balls are dissolved, they leave spaces in the scaffolding, which allow for nutrients to easily pass through, facilitating bone marrow growth.
Bone marrow is a type of tissue that is found inside of the hollow part of the bodies bones. Red and white blood cells are created inside of the bone marrow and held there until they have matured. Once they have matured, they leave the bone marrow and are used throughout the body. Without bone marrow, the body is unable to produce enough blood cells to remain healthy, greatly hindering the bodies immune system.
Many of the medicines and chemicals used to treat cancer end up crippling the immune system, because the treatments, like radiation and chemotherapy, kill existing bone marrow cells. This in turn hurts the creation of blood cells in the body, specifically white blood cells, which are used by the body to fight infections.
A good deal of the adverse effects of chemotherapy are as a result of damage to the bodies bone marrow, enough so that in serious cases, healthy bone marrow is transplanted into the body. Bone marrow transplants, which are only done in severe cases, require that the donors marrow very closely match that of the recipient. Often, some of an individuals own bone marrow will be removed prior to the cancer treatment, then after the treatment is complete, they will receive a transplant of their own cells.
This artificial bone marrow can not be used in bone marrow transplants, but it does offer scientist a way of testing the effects of cancer medicines on bone marrow and finding ways to keep it healthy. It could also potentially provide a never ending supply of blood to use in transfusions.
These finding were reported in “Biomaterials”, which is a scientific journal. The study, “In vitro analog of human bone marrow from 3D scaffolds with biomimetic inverted colloidal crystal geometry,” can be found in Volume 30, Issue 6