Layered tubular tissue is present in various places in the body; in blood vessels, the digestive tract and other organs. The tissue may contain multiple cell types that form layers with different properties and functions. Current methods of creating human tissue in the lab – known as biofabrication – often lack the details needed to mimic these complex structures. The Rotational Internal Flow Layer Engineering (RIFLE) technology can solve those shortcomings.
RIFLE-technology
The technology is developed by scientists from the University of Edinburgh. One of the advantages of the RIFLE process is that it is a cheap and fast biofabrication method that can operate on a very small scale.
In this procedure, an amount of liquid containing cells is injected into a small extremely fast rotating tube (up to 900 rpm). Due to the rotational speed, the cells spread evenly over the inner surface of the tube. The higher the rotation speed, the thinner the layers become. When this process repeats, cell layers form, resulting in a tubular structure made up of several distinct layers with a high cell density.
Scientists were able to demonstrate the working principle of the technology by producing cells in super-thin layers, similar to those of a human blood vessel. The researchers published their findings in the journal Biofabrication.
Drug development
Experts believe that the cheap production of tubular layered tissue in a laboratory can be of great importance for the development of (new) medicines. By providing drug manufacturers with accurate human models of intestinal tissue, these pharmaceutical companies can test how drugs taken orally are absorbed through the gut.
“With the RIFLE technology, we can generate the high resolutions in the laboratory that we see in human tubular layered tissue, and observe, for example, in blood vessels. Crucially, we use the same materials and cells that we find in our own bodies. This level of accuracy is crucial for researchers developing new drugs and studying diseases, as it will ultimately reduce the need for animal testing,” says project leader Dr. Ian Holland of the University of Edinburgh.
The team of scientists, together with Edinburgh Innovations, has now patented the RIFLE technology and is working on further applications for this new technique. However, they say more testing and clinical trials are needed before lab-grown tissue is available for use in human transplants.
2023-08-16 13:33:46
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