But growing human-usable tendon cells – which require stretching and twisting – has proved more complicated. Over the past two decades, scientists have encouraged tendon cells and engineered tissues to grow and mature by repeatedly stretching them in one direction. However, this method has so far failed to produce fully functional grafts that can be used clinically in humans.
A new study, published in Natural Communication Engineering today, shows how humanoid robots can be used to create more lifelike engineered tendon tissues.
Pierre-Alexis Mouthuy from the University of Oxford, who led the research team, said: “The clinical need is clearly there. “If we can make grafts in vitro of good enough quality for use in clinics, that would be really helpful for improving patient outcomes. Any improvement would be more than welcome. “
The first step involves redesigning the test chamber containing the cells, known as the bioreactor, to attach it to the shoulder of a humanoid robot that can bend, push, pull and twist the cells in a way similar to skeletal muscle tissue.
Whereas traditional bioreactors are like rigid boxes, the team has created a flexible type in which human fibroblast cells — elongated cells found in connective tissues. bond — developed on a soft plastic truss suspended between two rigid blocks. They attached the capsule to the robot shoulder, spending half an hour a day for 14 days recreating the lifting and rotational movements a human would perform.
The cells in the bioreactor were then found to reproduce faster than in the unstretched samples, and they expressed different genes – although the researchers still don’t know how that will affect them. affect the quality of the graft. The team plans to investigate how cells grown in their new bioreactor compare to cells grown in a traditional strain bioreactor.
