Stephen Bruno says July 11, 2006 is his new birthday.
That's the day he waited 16 years for.
It's the day his new liver finally came.
What's happening inside a North Carolina lab could put an end to the wait Stephen and thousands of others face each year.
Researchers at the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center are the first in the world to use human liver cells to create miniature livers.
Stem cells are grown on scaffolds -- creating a tiny organ.
Within a year, Harvard doctor Joseph Vacanti will be transplanting ears grown on a scaffold onto a person.
Doctor Vacanti became known throughout the world in the nineties when he grew a human ear on the back of a mouse.
Now, he's using a person's own stem cells to do the very same thing.
But it doesn't stop there.
Scientists at Cornell are developing artificial wombs in which embryos can grow outside of a woman's body.
UK scientists have built an artificial stomach that mimics both the physical and chemical reactions taking place during digestion.
In Cincinnati, scientists are testing bacteria-resistant skin cells that can sweat, tan and fight off infection and ultimately generate real skin.
Zebrafish are being studied at Duke.
The way they can regenerate their fins could help scientists discover how to regenerate limbs for amputees.
Within two weeks of amputation, Zebrafish can regenerate all of their tail fin -- color pattern included.
These breakthroughs come just a decade after the genome was untangled, which leads to this year's breakthrough -- the first artificial cell was born in Craig Venter's laboratory, which raises the question: Is the life line being crossed?
But researchers stress they are not creating life --only modifying life by working with cells that are already living.
Giving a second chance of life to millions of people who desperately need it.
More information on next page.
BACKGROUND: According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human services, an average of 75 people receive organ transplants each day. An average of 20 people die each day waiting for transplants that do not happen because of the shortage of donated organs. Every 11 minutes, someone is added to the organ donation waiting list, so the list is always changing.
GROWING MINIATURE LIVERS: Researchers at the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center are the first to use human liver cells to successfully engineer miniature livers that function in a laboratory setting just like human livers. The hope is that once the organs are transplanted, they will maintain and gain function as they develop. The engineered livers are about an inch in diameter and weigh about .20 ounces. They would have to weigh about 1 pound to meet the minimum needs of the human body. To engineer the organs, scientists used animal livers that were treated with a mild detergent to remove all cells, leaving only the collagen or support structure. They then replaced the original cells with two types of human cells: immature liver cells known as progenitors and endothelial cells that line blood vessels. These cells were introduced into the liver skeleton through a large vessel that feeds a system of smaller vessels in the liver. Then, the liver was placed in a bioreactor -- special equipment that provides a constant flow of nutrients and oxygen throughout the organ. After a week, the scientists documented the progressive formation of human liver tissue as well as liver-associated function. They also observed cell growth inside the bioengineered organ.
(SOURCE: Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center)
ZEBRAFISH: Zebrafish are highly-regenerative animals that are equipped to re-grow amputated fins; injured retinae; transected optic nerves and spinal cord; and resected heart muscle. Within two weeks of amputation, zebrafish can regenerate all of their tail fin. Investigators at Duke are studying the biology of the zebrafish's regenerative events in hopes of discovering new cellular mechanisms. These fish could also help scientists come up with ways to regenerate limbs for amputees. Years ago, these researchers found that zebrafish regenerate cardiac muscle after removal of 20 percent of the ventricle with little or no scarring.
(SOURCE: Duke University)
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Karen Richardson, Sr. Communications Manager
Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine
Winston-Salem, NC
krchrdsn@wfubmc.edu
(Information provided by Ivanhoe)
Copyright 2011 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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