Bioartificial organs: Spanish researchers replace pig corneal cells with human stem cells
- Date:
- April 19, 2011
- Source:
- University of Granada
- Summary:
- Researchers in Spain have made progress toward bioartificial organs by extracting pig corneal cells and replacing them with human stem cells.
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Researchers at the University of Granada have made progress toward bioartificial organs by extracting pig corneal cells and replacing them with human stem cells.
This method, known as decellularization and recellulation, allows scientists to maintain the basic structure of the cornea and replace its cellular components.
The research group is composed of professors Antonio Campos and Miguel Alaminos (histologists), María del Mar Pérez, Ana Ionescu and Juan de la Cruz Cardona (opticians) and the ophthalmologist Miguel González Andrades, University Hospital San Cecilio, Granada. Their results are published online in the research journal Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science.
An artificial cornea
The University of Granada researchers belong to the same research group that made an artificial cornea with biomaterials designed at the Tissue Engineering Laboratory of the University of Granada, which is currently on the preparatory stage to start a clinical trial.
At present, the authors of this study are promoting the establishment of an Institute for Tissue Engineering in Granada, which is currently on the feasibility and design phase.
Story Source:
Materials provided by University of Granada. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
Journal Reference:
- M. Gonzalez-Andrades, J. de la Cruz Cardona, A. M. Ionescu, A. Campos, M. del Mar Perez, M. Alaminos. Generation of Bioengineered Corneas with Decellularized Xenografts and Human Keratocytes. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, 2010; 52 (1): 215 DOI: 10.1167/iovs.09-4773
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