Technion scientists introduce stem-cell tissue regeneration technology to rebuild bone with fewer complications
Breakthrough in advancement of reconstructive surgery
While modern medicine has made leaps and bounds in the field of tissue and organ reconstruction over the years, it is still limited by one major drawback: Human beings don’t have spare parts.
If a car-accident survivor needs a reconstructed jaw, for instance, surgeons must build it from a piece of the patient’s fibula bone and the surrounding soft tissue and blood vessels, in a procedure known as autografting.
Using stem cells derived from dental pulp
Autografting takes a heavy toll on the body and can often lead to medical complications.
Prof. Shulamit Levenberg’s bioengineering team at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology has introduced a better way.
Using stem cells derived from dental pulp (the soft tissue inside the tooth), along with capillary-forming endothelial cells, they generated blood vessels for enhanced tissue remodeling and repair.
Working with Prof. Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic of Columbia University, Levenberg’s team took the concept of implantable bone tissue to a new level –reducing the need to harvest soft tissue and blood vessels to support organ reconstruction.
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