Bioreactor on the edge

Bioengineers grew a jawbone from a patient's rib

Georgy Golovanov, Hi-tech+

Usually, the jaw and ribs are not interconnected, but American specialists have developed a technology for correcting maxillofacial injuries using 3D printing.

The essence of the invention is to strengthen a 3D bioreactor on the edge. Stem cells and blood vessels from the rib penetrate into the frame material of the mold and replace it with bone tissue that is ideal for the patient, according to a press release from Rice University Grow a better jawbone in your ribs. Article by Tatara et al. Biomaterials-aided mandibular reconstruction using in vivo bioreactors is published in PNAS.

The study was conducted by scientists from Rice University as part of a ten-year program funded by the Institute of Regenerative Medicine of the US Armed Forces. Its goal is progress in the field of maxillofacial reconstruction by means of the body itself.

The new technique should replace modern technologies of bone transplantation of tissues taken from the bones of the lower leg, thigh or shoulder.

To conduct a preclinical test, the developers made a rectangular hole in the lower jaw of a sheep, and then created a blank and printed a form of plexiglass. They then removed enough tissue to expose the periosteum, which serves as a source of stem cells and vasculature, and placed the tissue in a mold. The frame inside the mold was made in two versions: from bone powder or synthetic biocompatible materials.

The form was fixed to the rib for nine weeks until the fabric filled it. Then the bioreactor was removed, and the patch was installed in the hole on the jaw. The new bone fused with the old one, and soft tissues appeared on top.

"We can potentially grow a new bone on several ribs at the same time," says Gerry Koons, one of the project participants.

Canadian specialists managed to grow ideal blood vessels in the form of organoids. They perfectly mimic the structure and function of real ones and have already taken root in mice.

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