Researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology and Radboud University Medical Center have succeeded in growing near-identical bone tissue from stem cells. This is the first organoid of bone reported in science. Their research is published in the journal, Advanced Functional Materials.
Bone is complex in its structure and utilizes a matrix of minerals and collagen to provide its structural support. The fact that a simplified representation of the formation of bone at the molecular level is available for researchers opens up a large range of applications. A key research aim of the group is to evaluate the cause of genetic bone disease and develop treatments using their new technology.
“Remember that the origin of many diseases is at the molecular level - and so is the treatment," says Anat Akiva, Assistant Professor Cell Biology at Radboudumc. "In fact, we now have a simple system in a reliable environment in which we can poke around and see how bone cells react to the stimuli we provide."
Image credit: Mehmet Turgut Kirkgoz