The heart in the web
MIPT scientists have grown heart tissue on a "spider silk" substrate
The web, a substrate of genetically engineered fibers of the spidroin protein, which spider threads consist of, turned out to be the best basis for growing cells from heart tissues, scientists from MIPT write in an article published in the journal PLOS One (Teplenin et al., Functional Analysis of the Engineered Cardiac Tissue Grown on Recombinant Spidroin Fiber Meshes).
Growing organs and tissues from the patient's own cells is one of the most promising areas of medicine. Regenerative methods make it possible to solve the problem of transplant rejection, but here scientists are faced with the problem of finding a suitable framework, a substrate on which cells can be grown. The material for them should be non-toxic, not rejected by the body, be sufficiently elastic and not interfere with cell growth.
Matrix-grown cardiac tissue cells labeled with fluorescent dye.
Here and below are pictures from the article in PLOS One.
A group led by Professor Konstantin Agladze, head of the Laboratory of Biophysics of Excitable Systems at MIPT, is engaged in tissue engineering of the heart. He and his colleagues grow from individual cells – cardiomyocytes – functional cardiac tissue capable of contracting and conducting excitation. Previously, they used synthetic polymer nanofibers as the basis for growing cells, but now they decided to test the capabilities of another material – fibers from the artificial spider protein spidroin. The threads of the web are distinguished by exceptional strength and lightness: it is five times stronger than steel at break, twice as elastic as nylon, and is able to stretch a third of its length. The protein molecules of spidroins, which make up the skeleton threads of the web, are similar in structure to the proteins of silk threads – fibroins, but much stronger than them.
Previously, scientists used matrices made of artificial spidroin fibers as the basis for creating implants – bones, tendons and cartilage, dressings. Agladze and his colleagues tested whether a base of spidroin obtained from genetically modified yeast cells could serve to grow heart cells.
A matrix of spidroin fibers under a microscope.
In the experiment, scientists seeded the "spider" base with cardiomyocytes taken from newborn rats. Then they monitored the cells, assessing their growth, ability to contract and conduct electrical impulses – the main properties of a full-fledged heart tissue.
Studies using a microscope and fluorescent tags showed that after three to five days, a layer of cells formed on the substrate that were able to contract synchronously and conduct electrical impulses in the same way as the heart tissue of a living heart.
Cells from different sections of the cardiomyocyte layer contract simultaneously.
You can see how it looks live on the video at the end of the article – VM.
"We can say yes to all the questions we asked at the beginning of the study. The heart tissue cells successfully attach to the substrate from the recombinant spidron, they grow and form layers, are fully functional – that is, they can contract in a coordinated manner," says Agladze.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru17.04.2015