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Natural heart tissue with spider silk reproduced - hope for heart patients
Spider silk is a natural, extremely durable material that is well suited for medical use. Various fields of application have already been investigated here in the past. In a recent study, researchers from the Universities of Bayreuth and Erlangen now come to the conclusion that in the future thanks to spider silk, even damaged hearts could be successfully "repaired".
In their experiments, the scientists laid the foundation for the artificial production of heart tissue with the help of a special spider silk protein and 3D printing. Soon, heart attack patients have a real chance of recovering their damaged heart tissue, according to the announcement of the University of Bayreuth. The researchers have published the results of their study in the journal "Advanced Functional Materials".
A special spider silk protein of the garden spider researchers used for the production of artificial heart tissue. (Image: JuergenL / fotolia.com) Heart failure so far incurable
For example, the heart may be irreversibly impaired in its function following an out-lived heart attack. The result is a heart failure. Around 1.8 million people in Germany suffer from such heart failure (heart failure), which is due to an irreversible loss of heart muscle cells due to heart disease, the researchers report, citing the figures of the German Heart Foundation. So far, there is no therapy that can reverse such damage to the cells.
Spider silk proteins are the key to success?
The research team headed by Professor Thomas Scheibel (Biofabrication) from the University of Bayreuth and Professor Felix Engel (Experimental kidney and circulatory research) from the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg has investigated in his current study whether spider silk can be used for the production of heart muscle tissue. The key to the production of artificial heart tissue lies on certain proteins that give the silk its structure and mechanical strength, the so-called fibroins, the experts report.
Spider silk well suited as framework material for heart tissue
Professor Engel had already discovered that the silk of the Indian silk moth is particularly well suited as a scaffolding material to make heart tissue. But so far it has not been possible to produce the protein in sufficient quantity and consistent quality, reports the University of Bayreuth. Professor According to their own statements, however, Thomas Scheibel and colleagues have succeeded in producing "a recombined silk protein of the garden spider in larger quantities and with consistently high quality." Together, the researchers from Bayreuth and Erlangen have further investigated the applications of the proteins of the cross-spider silk.
Production in 3D printing process
Spider silk is outstandingly suitable as a material for so-called biotin, with which tissue-like structures can be produced in three-dimensional printing, the researchers report. The living cells of humans or animals used in this case would generally remain functional, which opens up versatile possibilities in the production of artificial tissue. Jana Petzold from the Erlangen team and Tamara Aigner from the Bayreuth research group have therefore explored in more detail how the silk protein eADF4 (κ16), constructed in the laboratory, can be used for the production of cardiac tissue.
Function of the artificial heart muscle cells
The scientists placed a thin film of the silk protein on a glass slide, whereupon other cells (connective tissue cells or blood vessel cells) were placed, reports the University of Bayreuth. The function of the heart muscle cells was of particular interest. Researchers found that the factors responsible for hypertrophy (enlargement of cardiac muscle cells, for example, in athletes or pregnant women) also lead to volume growth in cardiomyocytes grown on the eADF4 (κ16) film were. The function seems very similar here.
In light of the current research results, the researchers were hopeful to be able to help many heart patients with the method based on artificial silk proteins and 3D printing. "Working heart tissue can be artificially made very soon. The question now is when and how does this happen in the clinic, "concludes Professor Thomas Scheibel. (Fp)