When it comes to cyborg spare parts, making working lungs is impressive. Performing various types of transplants has been the high technology except for the regrettable requirement for the demise of the donor. In the case of the synthetic lungs, they're being made in the equivalent of a test tube and then implanted into mice where they thrived. (Science Daily: Lab-grown mini lungs successfully transplanted into mice)
Researchers at the University of Michigan have transplanted lab-grown mini lungs into immunosuppressed mice where the structures were able to survive, grow and mature.
"In many ways, the transplanted mini lungs were indistinguishable from human adult tissue," says senior study author Jason Spence, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Internal Medicine and the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology at the U-M Medical School.
The scaffold provided a stiff structure to help the airway reach maturity.
"In just eight weeks, the resulting transplanted tissue had impressive tube-shaped airway structures similar to the adult lung airways," says Dye.
Researchers characterized the transplanted mini lungs as well-developed tissue that possessed a highly organized epithelial layer lining the lungs.
Researchers at the University of Michigan have transplanted lab-grown mini lungs into immunosuppressed mice where the structures were able to survive, grow and mature.
"In many ways, the transplanted mini lungs were indistinguishable from human adult tissue," says senior study author Jason Spence, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Internal Medicine and the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology at the U-M Medical School.
- Science Daily
We wanted the Jetsons in the future but instead we got the Flintstones (i.e. witness the Ark in Kentucky). However, we can forget about that idiotic Ark quickly in the face of some nearly miraculous science.
Through all history, any type of lung problem and you're probably boxed. It's my situation now and I'm just in a pre-boxed state due to my lungs but life wants to force me to endure this idiotic election (i.e. see above about the Ark) before it will let me go.
The science they're pursuing in this research won't be here anything like soon enough to do me any good but it's deeply encouraging to see it's happening.
Maybe some of you remember Boomer Esiason, one-time quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals, and his son has cystic fibrosis, a lung destroyer. It seems his boy still does well and Esiason started the Boomer Esiason Foundation for research and support in cystic fibrosis. Given this research, hopefully that foundation may not be needed forever but you might want to take a look in the meantime.
Working with Lonnie Shea, Ph.D., professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Michigan, the team used a biodegradable scaffold, which had been developed for transplanting tissue into animals, to achieve successful transplantation of the mini lungs into mice.
The scaffold provided a stiff structure to help the airway reach maturity.
"In just eight weeks, the resulting transplanted tissue had impressive tube-shaped airway structures similar to the adult lung airways," says Dye.
Researchers characterized the transplanted mini lungs as well-developed tissue that possessed a highly organized epithelial layer lining the lungs.
- Science Daily
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