Tissue engineering Flashcards
What are the requirements for xenotransplantation to work and what are the ethical issues?
Requirements: suppression of the recipient immune system, donor and recipient should be compatible, and the donor should be pathogen free.
Ethical issues: Suffering of other animals for the benefit of the human species and the question when a species qualifies as human and when it should have human rights.
Two methods to obtain the right 3D structure to grow a tissue.
A scaffold can be used, e.g. a decellularized organ or a biomaterial in the correct shape. The 3D structure can also be obtained by using the self-aggregating potential of SCs.
How do you ensure that the structure is right for 3D tissue engineering?
Build a structure of natural or synthetic biomaterials that resembles the support of the ECM. Signaling cues like GFs can be added. Continuous addition of oxygen and nutrients should be considered, next to continuous waste product removal. It should be possible to analyze the developing culture.
