What could be better than breast implants? Why, breast implants that continually repair themselves, of course.
Saline implants can leak, rupture, interfere with mammograms, and lose their shape. But scientists are studying ways to make breast augmentations from stem cells, which are famous for their self-renewing capabilities. Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago will publish a study in the April issue of Tissue Engineering showing that stem-cell tissue implants in mice kept their shape longer than traditional implants.
The work is not all about vanity. The researchers’ first goal is to help people who have undergone mastectomies or been disfigured by other surgeries or injuries. Tissue engineered from stem cells could have two benefits: It would stay firm longer, and it would eliminate a separate surgery, which is often necessary to extract healthy tissue for bone transplants, facial implants or burn treatments.
“The stem cells generated tissue in this particular scaffold and they maintained their shape almost 100 percent four weeks after implantation in mice,” said Dr. Jeremy Mao, director and associate professor of tissue engineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago. “In conventional fat transplant, it shrinks substantially over a period of a few weeks.”
Mao will present his findings Thursday during a press conference that will kick off the annual American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Washington, D.C., which runs through Monday. He will discuss the research during a scientific session at the meeting Friday.
Deriving fat from stem cells is a relatively small field of study, and the new research should give it a boost. “Using stem cells derived from human bone marrow, they were able to provide a cogent proof-of-concept of creating constructs that have a good potential for use in cosmetic and reconstructive surgery,” said Kyriacos Athanasiou, professor of bioengineering at Rice University in Houston.
Arnold Caplan, a biology professor and stem cell researcher at Case Western Reserve univeristy called the work “the beginning of a new era in cell-based therapies.” He also pointed out that horses are already benefitting from a similar treatment for tendon and ligament injuries as well as fractures.
