Every year about 1 million surgeries in the United States are performed to repair torn meniscus, the protective cartilage in the knee. When this cartilage is damaged, it can cause pain and lead to serious arthritis. Current treatments to repair meniscus involve performing a transplant with tissue taken from either different areas in the body or from a cadaver,. This method, however, has significant risks and relatively low success rates.
Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center in New York have been studying new methods for repairing this knee tissue, and have recently developed a way to use 3D-printed implants to replace torn or damaged meniscus.
To find new methods of repairing meniscus, the Columbia research team used a 3D-printer to produce an implant of a meniscus infused with two human growth proteins. These proteins help the body regenerate knee tissue by attracting existing stem cells and using them to create new tissue.
They then tested these newly printed meniscus in sheep because the knees of sheep are very similar to those of humans. Sheep were broken up into different groups, and some were given an implant with the human growth proteins and others were given the implant without the proteins. They found that after 3 months of receiving the implant, the sheep who had received an implant infused with the two human growth proteins were able to walk normally. Furthermore, the tissue that regenerated with the help of the implant and proteins had similar structural and mechanical properties to natural meniscus.
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Dr. Mao explained that "this is a departure from classic tissue engineering, in which stems cells are harvested from the body, manipulated in the laboratory, and then returned to the patient—an approach that has met with limited success. In contrast, we’re jumpstarting the process within the body, using factors that promote endogenous stem cells for tissue regeneration.”
Further study needs to be undertaken to see if these regenerated tissues are long-lasting o short lived, but this current success in sheep leads to new possibilities in using 3D-printed implants in repairing torn tissues.
Two National Institute of Health grants were used to help fund this project, one grant for $1.01 million, and a second for $547 thousand.
Watch the video below to see the printing process of the new meniscus:
(Video courtesy of Youtube.com)
Columbia University Medical Center researchers receive millions of dollars annually to support their research projects, and to help begin new projects. Other current life science research projects receiving funding at Columbia University include:
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