Bad Heart? Grow Yourself A New One!

itsmeeeeeee · 01-13-2008, 09:31 PM

WOW!!! THIS IS AMAZING!!!!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080113/...AfVYXeoDWs0NUE

Scientists create beating hearts in lab

By Julie Steenhuysen Sun Jan 13, 2:41 PM ET

CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. researchers say they have coaxed hearts from dead rats to beat again in the laboratory and said the discovery may one day lead to customized organ transplants for people.
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"The hope would be we could generate an organ that matched your body," said Doris Taylor of the University of Minnesota Center for Cardiovascular Repair.

Her study, which appeared on Sunday in the journal Nature Medicine, offers a way to fulfill the promise of using stem cells -- the body's master cells -- to grow tailor-made organs for transplant.

Taylor and colleagues used a process called decellularization to wash away existing cells from the hearts of dead rats while leaving the basic collagen structure intact.

They injected this gelatin-like scaffold with heart cells from newborn rats, fed them a nutrient-rich solution and left them in the lab to grow.

Four days later, the hearts started to contract.

The researchers used a pacemaker to coordinate the contractions. They hooked up the hearts to a pump so they were being filled with fluids and added a bit of pressure to simulate blood pressure.

Eight days later, the hearts started to pump.

"I have got to tell you, that was the home run," Taylor said in a telephone interview.

HEALING HEARTS

Like many researchers, Taylor and colleagues had been working on a stem cell therapy to try to heal hearts damaged by heart attacks.

A British team last month said they generated mature, beating heart cells from embryonic stem cells that could be used to make a heart patch.

Others have tried injecting heart stem cells directly into the scarred heart in the hopes of regenerating damaged tissue.

The Minnesota team took another approach.

"We recognized that nature has created the perfect scaffold and wondered whether there is a way in the lab to give nature the tools and get out of the way," Taylor said.

She and colleague Dr. Harold Ott, who is now at Massachusetts General Hospital, knew that decellularization already had been used in making tissue heart valves and blood vessels and decided to try it on whole organs.

They did the process with rat and pig hearts. But they only reported on the regeneration of the rat hearts.

"We hung these organs in the lab and we washed out all the cells. When you are done, you have this thing that looks like a ghost tissue," Taylor said.

The scaffold is made up of collagen, fibronectin and laminin.

The researchers chose immature heart cells because they thought these were most likely to work.

"The hope ultimately -- although we've got a ways to go -- is that we could take a scaffold from a pig or a cadaver and then take stem or progenitor cells from your body and actually grow a self-derived organ," she said.

Taylor said the process could be used on other organs, offering a potential new source of donor organs. It also could lead to organs that, in theory, would be less likely to be rejected by the body.

Nearly 50,000 people in the United States die each year waiting for a donor heart.

"This is an ingenious step towards solving a massive problem," Dr. Tim Chico of Britain's University of Sheffield said in a statement. "This study is very preliminary, but it does show that stem cells can regrow in the 'skeleton' of a donor heart."

Jonesy · 01-13-2008, 11:20 PM

Skeletons fucking rule. Some people don't know... all skeletons are the same color.

jowey · 01-14-2008, 03:59 PM

Growing organs would be a good thing.

I can just see the market growing for "black market" organs, especially healthy, documented organs to go to the highest bidder. They will not stop harvesting, arranged accidents for organ donors, the information is available now to identify and categorize the commodity for harvest .... the market is going to grow....

This is already a problem for some third world countries, citizens selling organs and like every market where there is a demand by those who can pay.....

Malkavian · 01-14-2008, 05:58 PM

Newborn rats, eh? I knew babies were good for something! I shall harvest their hearts, and feast, feast, feast! Blah! ^

^

jowey · 01-14-2008, 06:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Malkavian

Newborn rats, eh? I knew babies were good for something! I shall harvest their hearts, and feast, feast, feast! Blah! ^

^

Here is a link to help prepare for your feast....

Malkavian · 01-14-2008, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jowey

Here is a link to help prepare for your feast....

Awesome. That'll come in handy. Blah! ^

^

01-13-2008, 09:31 PM	#1 (permalink)
itsmeeeeeee punk nun Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: 53 miles west of venus Posts: 3,595 My Mood: Blog Entries: 3 Thanks: 198 Thanked 666 Times in 395 Posts	Bad Heart? Grow Yourself A New One! WOW!!! THIS IS AMAZING!!!! http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080113/...AfVYXeoDWs0NUE Scientists create beating hearts in lab By Julie Steenhuysen Sun Jan 13, 2:41 PM ET CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. researchers say they have coaxed hearts from dead rats to beat again in the laboratory and said the discovery may one day lead to customized organ transplants for people. ADVERTISEMENT "The hope would be we could generate an organ that matched your body," said Doris Taylor of the University of Minnesota Center for Cardiovascular Repair. Her study, which appeared on Sunday in the journal Nature Medicine, offers a way to fulfill the promise of using stem cells -- the body's master cells -- to grow tailor-made organs for transplant. Taylor and colleagues used a process called decellularization to wash away existing cells from the hearts of dead rats while leaving the basic collagen structure intact. They injected this gelatin-like scaffold with heart cells from newborn rats, fed them a nutrient-rich solution and left them in the lab to grow. Four days later, the hearts started to contract. The researchers used a pacemaker to coordinate the contractions. They hooked up the hearts to a pump so they were being filled with fluids and added a bit of pressure to simulate blood pressure. Eight days later, the hearts started to pump. "I have got to tell you, that was the home run," Taylor said in a telephone interview. HEALING HEARTS Like many researchers, Taylor and colleagues had been working on a stem cell therapy to try to heal hearts damaged by heart attacks. A British team last month said they generated mature, beating heart cells from embryonic stem cells that could be used to make a heart patch. Others have tried injecting heart stem cells directly into the scarred heart in the hopes of regenerating damaged tissue. The Minnesota team took another approach. "We recognized that nature has created the perfect scaffold and wondered whether there is a way in the lab to give nature the tools and get out of the way," Taylor said. She and colleague Dr. Harold Ott, who is now at Massachusetts General Hospital, knew that decellularization already had been used in making tissue heart valves and blood vessels and decided to try it on whole organs. They did the process with rat and pig hearts. But they only reported on the regeneration of the rat hearts. "We hung these organs in the lab and we washed out all the cells. When you are done, you have this thing that looks like a ghost tissue," Taylor said. The scaffold is made up of collagen, fibronectin and laminin. The researchers chose immature heart cells because they thought these were most likely to work. "The hope ultimately -- although we've got a ways to go -- is that we could take a scaffold from a pig or a cadaver and then take stem or progenitor cells from your body and actually grow a self-derived organ," she said. Taylor said the process could be used on other organs, offering a potential new source of donor organs. It also could lead to organs that, in theory, would be less likely to be rejected by the body. Nearly 50,000 people in the United States die each year waiting for a donor heart. "This is an ingenious step towards solving a massive problem," Dr. Tim Chico of Britain's University of Sheffield said in a statement. "This study is very preliminary, but it does show that stem cells can regrow in the 'skeleton' of a donor heart." __________________ "NEVER underestimate the Democrat's ability to snatch DEFEAT from the jaws of victory."
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01-13-2008, 11:20 PM	#2 (permalink)
Jonesy Truth Lion Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 2,554 Thanks: 10 Thanked 32 Times in 23 Posts	Skeletons fucking rule. Some people don't know... all skeletons are the same color.
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01-14-2008, 03:59 PM	#3 (permalink)
jowey Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Virginia Posts: 1,008 Blog Entries: 22 Thanks: 21 Thanked 16 Times in 13 Posts	Growing organs would be a good thing. I can just see the market growing for "black market" organs, especially healthy, documented organs to go to the highest bidder. They will not stop harvesting, arranged accidents for organ donors, the information is available now to identify and categorize the commodity for harvest .... the market is going to grow.... This is already a problem for some third world countries, citizens selling organs and like every market where there is a demand by those who can pay..... __________________ A long standing member of the "Moronic Order of Singularity" O homines ad servitutem paratos...Emperor Tiberius Sun Tzu on the Art of War - the oldest military treatise in the world (6th century BC) Now, when your weapons are dulled, your ardor damped, your strength exhausted and your treasure spent, other chieftains will spring up to take advantage of your extremity. Then no man, however wise, will be able to avert the consequences that must ensue.
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01-14-2008, 05:58 PM	#4 (permalink)
Malkavian Illegal Trash Container Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Resting in Peace Posts: 4,148 My Mood: Thanks: 165 Thanked 47 Times in 40 Posts	Newborn rats, eh? I knew babies were good for something! I shall harvest their hearts, and feast, feast, feast! Blah! ^^ __________________ Woof!
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