Bone regeneration due to loss of disease is complex and often painful. However, in a recent study, researchers from Australia have found a more straightforward way to use high-frequency sound waves to induce stem cells to transform into bone cells quicker and more efficiently.
Stem Cells Breakthrough Role in Bone Regeneration
FARMINGTON, CT - AUGUST 27: Stem cells are viewed on a computer screen at the University of Connecticut's (UConn) Stem Cell Institute at the UConn Health Center on August 27, 2010 in Farmington, Connecticut. UConn scientists and students have been recipients of federal grants for work using human embryonic stem cells and could be significantly affected by a federal court ruling that would limit funding for embryonic stem cell research. On August 23, U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth issued a preliminary injunction in Washington, D.C., halting all federal funding for basic research into embryonic stem cell technology. Stem cell research offers great hope in finding treatments for many diseases and illnesses, including heart attacks, strokes, and spinal cord injuries.
Stem cells are known for their broad medical potential in helping various tissues regenerate in the bony. However, bone has proven to be particularly difficult to work with. Bone comes from mesenchymal stem cells that reside mostly in the bone marrow. Collecting these cells is painful, and converting them into new bone cells is difficult to scale.
However, RMIT researchers found a quicker and relatively simpler way to induce MSCs to turn into useful bone cells. Previous studies suggested that vibrations from sound waves cause cell differentiation, but it usually took more than a week with mixed results. On the other hand, these experiments were limited to low frequencies, and it is believed that higher frequencies would have a small benefit. Hence, for the recent study, a team of RMIT researchers investigated the effects of higher frequencies.
In the study published in the journal Small, titled "Short-Duration High-Frequency MegaHertz-Order Nanomechanostimulation Drives Early and Persistent Osteogenic Differentiation in Mesenchymal Stem Cells," researchers used sound waves producing microchips in the MHz range, which were then directed at MSC stem cells in silicon oil culture plates. They found the best setup was to expose the MSCs to 10-MHz signals for 10 minutes daily for five days, which boosted the levels of specific markers that indicated the cells converting into bone cells.
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Effective and Easy Stem Cell Treatment
Leslie Yeo, the co-lead researcher on the study, explains that they used sound waves to apply just the right amount of pressure in all the right places to the stem cells to trigger changes. She adds that the device is both cheap and simple to use. Hence, it could easily be scaled for treating a huge number of cells simultaneously- a critical aspect for effective tissue engineering, reports NewAtlas.
When the stem cells begin to differentiate into bone, they can now be injected into the body at the site of disease or injury or coated onto an implant, ready for a new bone to regenerate. Researchers say that process removes the dependence on drugs that coax the stem cells down this path and makes the process faster and more efficient. Importantly, the stem cells can be obtained from different parts of the patient's body, like fat tissue, which is less invasive than retrieving cells from the bone marrow.
Researchers plan to continuously investigate the scalability of the platform for further practical use.
Injuries and diseases that lead to bone loss are rampant across the globe. The procedure to alleviate the destruction of bones is expensive and severely painful. This is why the recent research is a step forward in finding a scalable and sustainable treatment for people living with the pain of boss loss.
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