Weekly Update: Last Class of Cancer!

     Today we shared our research results of the question about stem cells we picked on the class blog. Carrissa, Lucy and I worked on one of my questions posted about Michael Bay's film The Island, which is whether the organs needed for transplant can be bred independently without building an entire clone. Our answers show that it is possible, but very difficult as well, since the organs in human body can barely survive without a supporting system.
     Human organ transplant has been a very critical issue recently, because the demand is always larger than the supply. The supply of organs was completely based on donations of the deceased, and it is dependent on the number of people willing to donate organs and whether it will match with the recipients' bodies.

     

     The scientists are developing 3 approaches to solve this problem. The first approach would be therapeutic cloning. This technology specifically deals with stem cells in human body. The adult stem cells can be converted to pluripotent stem cells which can transform to any type of cells in body. However, this carries a huge risk as well, because the recipient will have a higher chance to get cancer, because the new stem cells are more susceptible to proto-oncogene mutations.
     The second approach scientists are currently developing is xenoplantation, which means transplanting animal organs. Particularly, the scientists are looking at transplanting pig organs to human body due to their similar organ structures and sizes. Early attempts of this development can be traced back to late 1990s. However, the early experiments failed because the recipient's body recognized pig organ as a foreign tissue and attacked the organ. Therefore, the scientists will modify the pig genetically in their embryonic period, by adding 6 human genes in their stem cells to regulate the response from the recipient. However, this technology are considered unethical, and thus its application will be very limited.

     The final approach is the latest 3-D printing technology. Currently, researchers are printing mini organ systems in order to test the responses of new drugs from human body. The ultimate goal is to build a fully functional organ that would address the issue of the gap between organ supplies and demands.
     For the assignment today, I watched a Ted Talk video about new organ growth with new biotechnology. If the organs needed is small, it can be regenerated with smart biomaterials. The smart biomaterials served as the bridge in the gap of wounded organ (urethra), and the wound can be healed after the body regenerates itself to connect both ends of the bridges. Since the body can only regenerate in a very limited distance (around 1cm), a larger injured organ can be difficult for transplant. The technology requires a small part from the injured tissue, take the cells out, and let them grow and expand outside the body before the scaffold material is applied to take the cells back into the body. If a solid organ is injured, the methods of 3-D printing and de-cellularized organs can both be useful. The decellularized organs are skeletons of the organs that carry no cell elements. Later on, we can inject the cells of the patient to the new liver, and let them expand and grow to fully functional organs.

- Andy Liu '15