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A team of Israeli researchers "printed" the world's first 3D vascularized artificial heart. On Monday, a team of researchers at Tel Aviv University revealed the heart, made from the cells and biological material of a patient. Until now, scientists have managed to print only simple tissues without blood vessels.
"This is the first time anyone has been able to design and print a whole heart full of cells, blood vessels, ventricles and chambers," said Professor Tal Dvir of the School of Cell Biology and Biotechnology from TAU to the Department of Materials Science and Engineering the Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology and the Center for Regenerative Biotechnology Sagol, who was the principal investigator of the study. He has worked with Professor Assaf Shapira of the Faculty of Life Sciences at TAU and Nadav Moor, a PhD student. Their research was published in Advanced Science.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States. In Israel, it is the second leading cause of death (after cancer). In 2013, heart disease accounted for about 16% of the total number of deaths in Israel, according to the Ministry of Health. Heart transplant is often the only treatment available for patients with end-stage heart failure. In the United States, the waiting list for patients can go up to six months or more. In Israel and the United States, many patients die on the waiting list in the hope of being able to survive. "This heart is made up of human cells and patient-specific biological materials, and in our process these materials serve as bio-inks, sugar-based substances and proteins that can be used for 3-D printing. Complex tissue models, "said Dvir. has explained.
"People have managed to 3D print the structure of a heart in the past, but not with cells or with blood vessels.Our results demonstrate the potential of our approach to engineering the personalized replacement of tissues and organs in the future, "he said. At this point, the 3D core produced at TAU is designed for a rabbit, but professors have stated that larger hearts could be produced with the same technology. For research, an adipose tissue biopsy was taken from patients, according to a statement. The cellular and a-cellular materials of the tissue were then separated. The cells were reprogrammed to become pluripotent stem cells which could then be efficiently differentiated into cardiac or endothelial cells. The extracellular matrix (ECM), a three-dimensional network of extracellular macromolecules, such as collagen and glycoproteins, has been transformed into a custom hydrogel used as an "ink". The differentiated cells were then mixed with the bio-inks and were used to 3D print patient-specific, patient-specific heart patches with blood vessels and subsequently an entire heart. According to Dvir, the use of "native" patient-specific materials is crucial for successful tissue and organ engineering. The next step, they said, is to teach hearts to behave like human hearts. First, they will transplant them to animals and finally to humans. The hope is that "by now 10 years, there will be organ printers in the best hospitals in the world and that these procedures will be performed routinely," said Dvir.
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