SCIE 1P51 Final Flashcards
What is organ printing?
Organ printing is using 3D printing technology to create biomaterials like microstructures or complicated scaffolds
How many functioning 3D printed organs have been successfully created?
none
What does AM stand for?
Additive Manufacturing
What is Additive manufacturing?
A manufacturing technique that produces complex 3D structures by selectively adding materials to create complex biocompatible scaffolds
What are 4 controlled variables in the process of additive manufacturing?
1 shapes of pores
2 pore size
3 distribution of pores
4 connectivity of pores
What is bio-paper?
the printing substrate that the encapsulated cells would adhere to
What is bio-paper made of?
biocompatible ECM-containing hydrogels
How is 3D printing done using bio-paper?
layers are printed one on top of the other and after cells fuse, bio-paper is removed
What 4 ingredients are used in bio-printing?
bio-ink, mixture of cells, growth factors, nutrients
What are 4 parts of the bio-printing process which are currently posing challenges preventing it from being successful?
1 strength and integrity of bio-printed material
2 scaffolds
3 vascular structures
4 printing techniques
Name 3 different printing techniques
1 jet
2 extrusion
3 spin
Name 2 reasons why no functional organs have yet been made through 3D printing
1 difficulty creating blood vessels between tissue layers
2 the specialized functions of many organs are difficult to replicate
What is gene therapy?
Gene therapy is the process by which non-functioning or mutated genes/gene sequences (which are associated with a genetic disease/disorder) are replaced with a normal gene to restore function
What are 3 tools used in gene therapy?
restriction enzymes
plasmids
recombinant DNA
Where are restriction enzymes found?
in bacteria (not found in humans)
What are restriction enzymes used for?
cutting DNA at specific sites to take out a section of the DNA containing what you want (e.g. a specific gene)
What are plasmids?
small, circular pieces of DNA (a string of DNA looped together into a circle)
Name 3 characteristics of plasmids
have replication signal
contain 3 to 5 genes
usually have antibiotic resistance
What is recombinant DNA
new repaired DNA containing your gene of interest
How is recombinant DNA made?
DNA from plasmid and gene are glued back together
What is the purpose of recombinant DNA?
to make proteins
What are vectors (in relation to gene therapy)?
gene delivery systems
What is ‘in vivo’ gene delivery
vector and gene/plasmid are administered directly to organism, and transfers genetic information to live (in vivo) organism cells
Define ex vivo
takes place outside the organism
How many chromosomes are in the mouse genome?
20 chromosomes
At what university was a gene therapy trial done attempting to treat choroideremia (a retinal degenerative disease)?
University of Oxford
When and by whom was the gene therapy trial done attempting to treat choroideremia (a retinal degenerative disease)?
In 2011 by Robert MacLean and coworkers
Choroideremia gene therapy: How was the trial conducted?
6 patients were injected with a gene sequence in the viral vector adenovirus
Choroideremia gene therapy: what were the results of the trial?
2 patients experienced improvement in their vision
Gene Therapy Experiment for Ischemic Heart Failure: what year did the study begin?
2013
Gene Therapy Experiment for Ischemic Heart Failure: what phase is it in?
Phase I
Gene Therapy Experiment for Ischemic Heart Failure: how many patients are included in the study?
17
Gene Therapy Experiment for Ischemic Heart Failure: how is the study conducted?
used a gene sequence to produce protein SDF-1 which can promote the production of stem cells at a specific site
What is haemophilia B?
a sex-linked genetic disease where a person’s body cannot produce clotting factor IX
How is haemophilia B typically treated?
repeated injections of the clotting factor for the patient’s entire life
What is a problem with the typical method of treatment for Haemophilia B?
very expensive
Who conducted the 2011 study “Adenovirus-Associated Virus Vector-Mediated Gene Transfer in Hemophilia B”?
Davidoff and coworkers
How was the Hemophilia study by Davidoff conducted?
Viral vector was used to inject Aden-associated virus into the bloodstream of patients in order to insert the correct gene sequence to produce the clotting factor.
What were the results of Davidoff’s study on hemophilia?
4 patients do not need to continue injecting clotting factor, 2 patients inject less clotting factor, 2 patients experienced mild side effects which were treated successfully
“Treatment of Diabetes and Long-Term Survival Following Insulin and Glucokinase Gene Therapy” - what was this study about?
Four beagles injected with aden-associated virus (AAV) vector and gene sequences to treat diabetes
What animal is Sooam Biotech trying to “recreate” and how?
a woolly mammoth, using blood and skin cells from frozen samples through an elephant surrogate
What were 2 problems with Dolly (the cloned sheep)?
1 lung cancer
2 had arthritis
Why were there problems with Dolly and when was she euthanized?
shortened telomeres caused problems, euthanized age 6 in 2003
How many genes are in the human genome?
over 20,000
What percent of genetic diseases are caused by only one gene?
2% (other 98% caused by a gene combination)
Define homozygous
having identical genes (one from each parent) for a particular characteristic
Define heterozygous
having two different genes for a particular characteristic
Define dominant
the allele of a gene that masks or suppresses the expression of an alternate allele; the trait appears in the heterozygous condition
Define genotype
the genetic makeup of an organism
Define phenotype
the physical appearance
Name 2 different factors in identifying a genetic disease
1 dominant vs recessive
2 sex linked vs autosomal
What are 3 characteristics of a dominant disease?
1 heterozygous (usually)
2 carriers express the disease
3 when one parent is a carrier, risk is 1 in 2
Is sickle cell anemia dominant or recessive?
recessive
What is the shape of a normal cell vs sickle cell?
normal = disc-shaped sickle = sickle-shaped
What is the hardness of a normal cell vs a sickle cell?
normal = soft like a bag of jelly sickle = hard like a piece of wood
How long do normal cells live vs how long sickle cells live
normal = 120 days sickle = 20 days or less
What is one of the problems with the shape of a sickle-cell?
they often get stuck when flowing through small blood vessels
On which chromosome are the genes for sickle-cell anemia located?
chromosome 11
What did Romeo et al find in their test injecting modified human haematopoietic stem cells into mice?
The mice were free of sickle cells 2 to 3 months later
Is Huntington’s disease dominant or recessive?
dominant
What is Huntington’s disease?
a neurological disorder where control is lost of most motor functions
On which chromosome is the gene for Huntington’s disease located?
chromosome 4
Is muscular dystrophy dominant or recessive?
recessive
On which chromosome is the gene for muscular dystrophy located?
X chromosome
1 in how many males are affected by muscular dystrophy?
1 in 3500
What are the effects of muscular dystrophy?
weakness and loss of muscle tissue
Is hemophilia dominant or recessive?
recessive
On which chromosome is the gene for hemophilia located?
X chromosome
1 in how many live male births are affected by muscular dystrophy?
about 1 in 5000
What percentage of hemophilia A patients treated with plasma concentrates in the early 80s experienced negative effects from the treatment? What was this negative effect?
60% became HIV positive
What percentage of hemophilia patients have hemophilia B?
about 25%
1 in how many males have hemophilia A vs B?
A = 1 in 5,000 to 10,000 males B = 1 in 35,000 males
What is pleiotropy? Give examples.
When one gene influences many seemingly unrelated phenotypic traits, e.g. stroke, organ failure, poor circulation, and heart attack
Define polygenic traits, and give examples
Many different genes contributing to one single trait. May be multiple copies of the same gene, e.g. height, skin colour, intelligence
What is Turner syndrome?
A genetic disorder where the only sex chromosome the person possesses is a single X chromosome. Person is female, sterile, and has masculine traits.
What is Klinefelter syndrome?
A genetic disorder where the individual has two X-chromosomes and one Y-chromosome. Person is male, sterile, and has feminine traits.
What is Down syndrome?
A genetic disorder also called trisomy 21 where the individual has 3 copies of chromosome 21.
What factor increases risk of Down syndrome?
Higher age of mother
What is pedigree analysis?
the complex study of human genetics - we study family trees (pedigrees) to identify how traits are inherited.
Name 6 methods of food preservation
1 drying 2 smoking 3 salting 4 freezing 5 concentrating 6 fermenting
What food process had laws surrounding it in Ancient Egypt?
handling of meat
What food processes had laws surrounding it in Ancient Greece and Rome?
diluting of wine, short values on grains and oils
What was the purpose of the 1875 Inland Revenue Act (Canada) in regards to food?
to impose license duties on compounders of spirits and to prevent the adulteration of food, drink, and drugs
What 4 foods did the 1884 Adulteration Act mention?
coffee, tea, pepper, chocolate
In what year was the first standard set for tea in Canada?
1894
In 1920, the Adulteration Act changed its name to what?
the Food and Drugs Act
What was Dr. Harvey Washington Wiley’s profession and where did he work?
Chemist and Chief of the Bureau of Chemistry (which later became the FDA), at Purdue University
What is Dr. Harvey Washington Wiley known as?
the ‘father of pure food’
What was Dr. Harvey Washington Wiley’s ‘poison squad’ and what tests did he perform on them?
a group of local college students in 1902-1904 that he fed meals with some problematic additives, testing their bodily fluids for toxicity
When was the first patent made for a food additive?
1886
In was year was the FDA formed?
1906
What is a food additive defined as in Canada?
any substances, including any source of radiation, the use of which results in, or may reasonably be expected to result in, it or its byproducts becoming a part of, or affecting the characteristic of a food
What is a food additive defined as is the US?
In general, anything intentionally added to a food to produce a specific beneficial result
What does GRAS stand for?
Generally Recognized As Safe
How were older GRAS compounds added to the list?
“common experience” or the “nothing happened” test, aka no laboratory
How are new GRAS compounds certified?
A manufacturer can apply to have their additive receive GRAS status. Scientific studies done to show compound safety
What does GMP stand for?
Good Manufacturing Practice
what is the purpose of the GMP
to dictate that the minimum amount of the food additive required to achieve the desired technical effect may be used and no more