18 April 2005
Kidney Health Australia has released details of one of the
world's leading tissue engineering research programs at Queensland
University this morning, at a Tissue Engineering Research Round
Table.
Husband and wife team Professors Julie and Gordon Campbell have
developed a procedure whereby a subject uses his/her own abdominal
cavity as a bioreactor to grow replacement organs from cells derived
from the bone marrow.
Artificial Ureter
They found that implanting a mould (tube, bulb or other
shape) made from almost any material into the abdominal cavity
caused cells from the bone marrow to rush to that site and form a
capsule several layers thick around the foreign body.
These cells then differentiate into myofibroblasts, which are
similar to immature smooth muscle cells.
The Campbells found that when this capsule of living tissue
(minus the mould) was grafted into a smooth muscle organ such as a
blood vessel, bladder, or uterus, the myofibroblasts fully
differentiated into smooth muscle cells and the graft functioned as
the normal organ.
To date the studies have only been done in animal models, but the
work on vascular grafts has developed to the stage where an implant
device suitable for human patients has been developed and clinical
trials planned.
Dr Tim Mathew Medical Director of Kidney Health Australia said,
"This is good news for end stage renal failure patients, as it may
take only 2-3 weeks to 'grow-their-own' haemodialysis access grafts
ensuring no rejection problems and with the aim of providing access
grafts of unlimited life in contrast to artificial grafts that tend
to stop after 12 months or so."
"This exciting work that capitalizes on a previously unrealized
ability of the peritoneal cells to transform into other structures,
if proven in humans, will open the door to a host of opportunities
to replace 'tubes' in the body that should be equally strong and as
long lasting as the original parts."
Running parallel to the Queensland research, Professor Bertram
and Dr Ricardo at Monash University in Victoria are using
experimental animal models of renal disease to identify potential
stem cells present in the kidney, and others homing into the kidney
from circulating bone marrow cells.
Further images available in pdf file:
Artificial
Bladder
Artificial
Ureter
Kidney
Health Australia website
Media Enquiries:
Dr Tim Mathew Medical Director of Kidney
Health Australia 0416 149 863
Ron Smith Corporate Media
Communications 0417 329 201
