Tissue engineering aims to regenerate and replace damaged or diseased tissues. It involves using scaffolds and growth factors to induce the body's own cells to assemble into new tissues. Recent progress includes growing skin grafts for burn victims and cartilage grafts for joint disease. However, complex organs remain difficult to engineer due to challenges with cell survival, function, and organization. If overcome, tissue engineering could help many of the millions who suffer from conditions currently lacking effective treatments like organ transplants.

1. TISSUE ENGINEERING
A.K.A. REGENERATIVE MEDICINE

2. Definition:
Tissue engineering is the field of biomedical engineering
that’s goal is to create new cells that helps heal organs
and if need be, to create an entirely new organ.
The main point of tissue engineering is to make it easier
basically reproduce organs in order to make people’s
lives better.
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3. Background
Tissue Engineering dates
back to the 16th century.
Was found to replace teeth
with gold or silver implants.
Johann Friedrich
Dieffenbach performed skin
transplantation on animals
that led to reconstructive
surgery.
First Experiment?
Actual "tissue engineering"
wasn't experimented until
the early 1970's.
W.T Green attempted to
generate new cartilage
using bone fragments.
Experimental results lead
him to discover scaffolds.

4. STILL THOUSANDS DIE WHILE WAITING FOR A TRANSPLANT,
AND THOUSANDS MORE AREN’T EVEN ON THE LIST.
400 bil: ½ of
national
health care
bill goes to
patients with
organ failure,
or tissue loss

5. T. E. IS THE NEXT WAVE
• GROW YOUR OWN TISSUE OUTSIDE OF
YOUR BODY AND USE IT FOR REPAIR
•BURN VICTIMS USE
SKIN GRAFTS
• OR: IMPLANT GROWTH FACTORS THAT
TELLS CELLS WHERE TO GROW
• OR: PLANTING A SCAFFOLD SEEDED
WITH YOUR OWN STEM CELLS INTO THE
BODY. •Grass grows back, starfish arms grow
back, why not your amputated arm?

6. WHAT AREAS OF LIFE SCIENCE HAVE BEEN
AFFECTED BY T.E.?
•MEDICAL FIELD
• GERIATRICS
• THERAPIES
•ANATOMY
•CELL SCIENCE
•GENETICS
•EVOLUTION
•BOTANY?
• AGRICULTURE
•CAD/ ENGINEERING
•PHARMACEUTICALS
•PHYSICS
Why evolution?
because this is technology that could
dramatically increase human life span

7. APPLICATIONS
•TISSUE REPLACEMENT FOR
•DISEASE
•TRAUMA
•CONGENITAL PROBLEMS
•TRANSPLANTATION
How much would you pay for
a super star athlete’s body?
Lance’s heart, Tyson’s teeth,
Stephen Hawking Builds Robotic
Exoskeleton – The Onion

8. CURRENT THERAPIES
1. AUTOGRAFT: VERY PERSONAL
RECYCLING
• UNLESS YOU RUN OUT OF
YOURSELF TO GRAFT
• REJECTION ISN’T A PROBLEM
2. ALLOGRAFTING
• ALLO: DIFFERENT
• FROM ANOTHER MEMBER OF
SAME SPECIES
• MOST COMMON
• SKIN, CORNEAS, HEART, LIVER,
KIDNEY, BONE
Speaking of Allo: Tasmanian
Devils have been hit by what’s
called an allograft transmissible
cancer, Devil Facial Tumor
Disease
Very weird cancer
spreadable by touch
Very Lethal

9. CURRENT THERAPIES
3. XENOGRAFTING
• TAKING TISSUE FROM ANOTHER SPECIES
• EASY SUPPLY, BUT ETHICAL
CONSIDERATIONS, & REJECTION
• STARTED IN 60’S WITH CHIMP KIDNEYS
• POTENTIAL FOR DISEASE SPREADING, A PIGS
IMMUNE TO SOMETHING, BUT NOT US
• LANCE ARMSTRONG’S DOG HAS A HEART
VALVE MADE OF BOVINE TISSUE
• HE’S A WINNER

10. CURRENT THERAPIES
4. MAN MADE STUFF
• ARTIFICIAL HEARTS, VALVES,
HIPS, AND BREAST IMPLANTS.
• PROBLEMS: WEAR & TEAR,
NEED FOR REPLACEMENT, NOT
ORGANICALLY VERSATILE.
• DEPENDS ON HOW YOU VIEW
THE SPEED OF TECHNOLOGY.

11. T.E. WILL SURPASS THESE THERAPIES
• GROW TISSUES OUTSIDE THE BODY FOR LATER
IMPLANTATION
• LIKE SKIN
• IMPLANTING DEVICES THAT INDUCE THE REGENERATION OF
TISSUE
• LIKE A TRELLIS FOR IVY TO GROW UP
• GET YOUR GROWTH FACTOR ON
• STEM CELL THERAPIES
• GOAL: CHEAPER & BETTER.
• DARE I SAY IT? CHANGE THE WORLD

12. Pros:
Help a person conquer a disease or illness.
Person will go through fewer surgeries.
No chance of rejection .
People would not have to wait for an organ donor.

13. Cons:
Medicine researchers face many difficulties in constructing suitable
scaffolds.
It takes a lot of research and understanding of each organ and tissue.
Ethical issues.
Cells have to stay alive inside the body and continue to function
which is difficult for researchers to discover for complex organs.

14. SO THINK FOR A MINUTE…
• WHAT AREAS OF LIFE SCIENCE, BESIDES MEDICAL, OR TECHNOLOGY HAVE
BEEN AFFECTED BY T.E.
• AGRICULTURE, BIOPHYSICS, BIOMATERIALS, COMPUTER MODELING

15. TISSUE ORIGINS
•EMBRYONIC CELLS
PRESENT
MOLECULES ON
THEIR MEMBRANES
THAT AID IN THE
EARLY ORGANIZING
PROCESS
• ECTODERM,
MESODERM,
ENDODERM

16. 4 TYPES OF TISSUE
•EPITHELIAL, CONNECTIVE,
MUSCLE, NERVOUS
•THEY’VE ALL GOT AN E.C.
MATRIX (ECM) AROUND THEM.
• WHETHER SOFT AS IN BLOOD, TO
HARD AS IN BONE
•BIG QUESTION: HOW DO THE
CELLS KNOW WHAT TO
BECOME, HOW DO THEY KNOW
TO STAY THAT WAY?

17. • REMEMBER EVERY SOMATIC CELL HAS
THE SET OF INSTRUCTIONS FOR
EVERY PROTEIN IN YOUR BODY.
• CELLS THROW GROWTH FACTORS
BACK AND FORTH TURNING GENES ON
AND OFF.
Your body works through extraordinary
teamwork

18. •Hot research area: harvest embryonic
stem cells without destroying the embryo.

19. SHORT FORM: KNOW THE
ARGUMENT
•PROPONENTS
• THEY’RE FROM EMBRYOS THAT ARE SLATED FOR DESTRUCTION
ANYWAY
• GREAT POTENTIAL FOR GOOD
•OPPONENTS
• DESTROYS EMBRYOS
• DEVALUES WORTH OF HUMAN

20. WHO’S WHERE?
• LEGAL
• SWEDEN, FINLAND,
BELGIUM, GREECE, THE
UNITED KINGDOM,
DENMARK, AND THE
NETHERLANDS
• CHINA, JAPAN, KOREA,
TAIWAN
• ISRAEL, IRAN
• ILLEGAL
• GERMANY, AUSTRIA,
IRELAND, ITALY, AND
PORTUGAL.
• MOST OF MIDDLE EAST
• AFRICA, EXCEPT S.
AFRICA
• S. AMERICA, EXCEPT
BRAZIL

21. II. Stem cell research

22. WHAT PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE
TO DATE?
• AUTOLOGOUS STEM CELLS HAVE BEEN INJECTED INTO HEART TO REGENERATE
DAMAGED CARDIAC TISSUE
• CORNEAL AUTOLOGOUS STEM CELL GRAFTS HAVE BEEN USED TO TREAT EYE
DISEASE & TRAUMA
• SKIN REPLACEMENT HAS BEEN GROWN WITH STEM CELLS FOR TRANSPLANT
IN BURN VICTIMS

23. PROGRESS…
• AUTOLOGOUS STEM-CELL CARTILAGE GRAFTS HAVE BEEN USED TO TREAT
JOINT DISEASE
• LEUKEMIA & OTHER CANCERS HAVE BEEN TREATED WITH STEM CELLS FROM
BONE MARROW AND UMBILICAL CORD BLOOD
• A HUMAN MANDIBLE HAS BEEN PRODUCED USING A TITANIUM MESH AND
AUTOLOGOUS BONE-MARROW STEM CELLS

24. BONE T.E.
•WE ARE FULL ON IN THE MIDDLE OF THE
BONE AND JOINT DECADE.
•QUICK SHOW OF HANDS, WHOSE BROKEN A
BONE?
•MAYANS WERE PUTTING IN SHELLS WHERE
TEETH FELL OUT, MORE THAN 1K YEARS AGO.
•BONE LIKES TO GROW ONTO TITANIUM,
WHICH LASTS A LONG TIME.

25. SCAFFOLDS
• ALLOW CELL ATTACHMENT AND MIGRATION
• DELIVER AND RETAIN CELLS AND BIOCHEMICAL FACTORS
• ENABLE DIFFUSION OF VITAL CELL NUTRIENTS AND EXPRESSED PRODUCTS
• EXERT CERTAIN MECHANICAL AND BIOLOGICAL INFLUENCES TO MODIFY THE
BEHAVIOR OF THE CELL PHASE
• NEED A CERTAIN POROSITY, BIODEGRADABILITY,

26. •THIS ANIMATION OF A ROTATING
CARBON NANOTUBE SHOWS ITS
3D STRUCTURE. CARBON
NANOTUBES ARE AMONG THE
NUMEROUS CANDIDATES FOR
TISSUE ENGINEERING
SCAFFOLDS SINCE THEY ARE
BIOCOMPATIBLE, RESISTANT TO
BIODEGREDATION AND CAN BE
FUNCTIONALIZED WITH
BIOMOLECULES.

27. •QUESTIONS HOW TO GET THE
GROWTH HORMONES AND CELLS TO
THE SCAFFOLD IN THE RIGHT CONC. AT
THE RIGHT TIMES.
•NOTE: THIS MOUSE DIDN’T GROW THE
EAR, A SCAFFOLD WAS PLACED IN IT,
AND THE CELLS GREW AROUND THE
SCAFFOLD.

28. A HEART VALVE GROWN IN A DISH

29. BIOREACTORS
• SYSTEMS THAT SUPPORT
BIOLOGICALLY ACTIVE
ENVIRONMENT
• DEVICE FOR GROWING CELLS
• LOTS OF VARIABLES TO CONTROL
• NASA’S DESIGNING ONE TO SEE IF
MICROGRAVITY IS A BETTER
ENVIRONMENT TO GROW
TISSUESPEOPLE NEVER GET OFF
THIS WAITING LIST.
This lab-grown blood vessel
developed in the bioreactor just
as it would in the body

30. CLONING
• A “CLONE” IS A COPY OF
SOMETHING.
• COMPUTERS THAT MIMIC IBMS
ARE CALLED “CLONES.”
• IN GENETICS, A CLONE IS A
GENETIC COPY OF ANOTHER
ORGANISM.
• CLONES OCCUR NATURALLY:
• ASEXUAL BREEDING IN PLANTS &
LOWER ANIMALS
• IDENTICAL TWINS (TRIPLETS) IN
HIGHER ANIMALS
Lohan clones

31. HISTORY
OF CLONING
•FOR CENTURIES IT HAS BEEN
KNOWN THAT SIMPLE ANIMALS
– WORMS & STARFISH – CAN
BE CLONED BY CUTTING THEM
IN HALF.
•THIS DOESN’T WORK FOR
HIGHER ANIMALS!
•PART OF THE PROBLEM IS CELL
SPECIALIZATION:
• NERVE
• BONE
• MUSCLE, ETC.

32. CLONING IN THE
21TH CENTURY
•WE NOW REALIZE THAT EACH
SPECIALIZED CELL HAS ALL THE
GENETIC INFORMATION, BUT
MUCH OF IT IS TURNED OFF.
•PROBLEM – HOW TO RESET THE
“PROGRAM” SO THIS
INFORMATION IS USABLE?
• CLONING OF FROGS SUCCESSFUL
IN 1950S
• CLONING OF LIVESTOCK FROM
FETAL CELLS IN 1970S

33. DOLLY - 1996
•CLONE FROM AN ADULT SHEEP
CELL BY SCOTS RESEARCHERS
UNDER IAN WILMUT
•HAD ONLY ONE SUCCESS IN
300 TRIES.
•DOLLY GREW TO MATURITY,
AND SUCCESSFULLY HAD A
LAMB BY NATURAL MEANS IN
1998.
•BUT DOLLY SEEMS TO BE
PREMATURELY OLD.

34. CLONING SINCE DOLLY
• CLONING OF THIS SORT HAS NOW BEEN DONE ON CATTLE, PIGS AND MICE
ALSO.
• THE SUCCESS RATE HAS IMPROVED CONSIDERABLY.
• CLONING HUMANS BEGINS TO SHOW UP IN SCIENCE FICTION IN 1970S.
• THIS IS NOW A REALISTIC POSSIBILITY.

35. THE FUTURE?
According to the Stem Cell Research Center:
Half Of All world population Could Benefit From Stem Cell Research
Experts are predicting that stem cell research has the potential
to help up to half of all worl population, who suffer from some form of
presently incurable disease, injury or birth defect. Some of
Those conditions include:
One million children with juvenile diabetes
8.2 million people with cancer
58 million with heart disease
Four million suffering from Alzheimer's disease
10 million with osteoporosis
43 million arthritis sufferers
250,000 people paralyzed by spinal cord injuries
30,000 victims of Lou Gehrig's disease
500,000 with Parkinson's disease
www.stemcellresearchfoundation.org/WhatsNew/Benefit.htm

36. FUTURE
• I SEE TISSUE ENGINEERING AS A VERY PROMISING FIELD IN BIOMEDICAL
ENGINEERING.
• IT CAN SOLVE MANY OF THE PROBLEMS THAT PEOPLE EXPERIENCE TODAY.
• IT WILL EVENTUALLY CONTINUE TO GROW AND BECOME AND MAKE THE NEED
FOR A DONOR LIST OBSOLETE AS THEY WILL BE ABLE TO JUST GROW ORGANS
SPECIFICALLY FOR PEOPLE.