Early Benefits of Progress Towards Bioengineered Organs
For a field to move efficiently towards its end goal, there has to be some money-making application for early results and partial advances. Here's a look at early applications of work towards artificial bioengineered organs: "Our artificial organ systems are aimed at offering an alternative to animal experiments ... Particularly as humans and animals have different metabolisms. 30 per cent of all side effects come to light in clinical trials ... The special feature, in our liver model for example, is a functioning system of blood vessels. This creates a natural environment for cells. We don't build artificial blood vessels for this, but use existing ones - from a piece of pig's intestine. ... All of the pig cells are removed, but the blood vessels are preserved. Human cells are then seeded onto this structure - hepatocytes, which, as in the body, are responsible for transforming and breaking down drugs, and endothelial cells, which act as a barrier between blood and tissue cells. ... The researchers established that the cells work in a similar way to those in the body. They detoxify, break down drugs and build up proteins. These are important pre-conditions for drug tests or transplants, as the effect of a substance can change when transformed or broken down - many drugs are only metabolized into their therapeutic active form in the liver, while others can develop poisonous substances."
Link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090625074631.htm