Design of Cellular Blocks, Their Programmatic Assembly into Biological Meshes, and the Synthesis of Tissue-Like Structures
Abstract
Developmental biology is the study of the process by which multi-cellular organisms grow and differentiate. All of these processes can be traced back to a single totipotent stem cell from which all differentiated cells originate. These single cells robustly divide and differentiate with impeccable accuracy based on the genetics of this original cell and its surrounding environment. While it is understood that this process happens in different ways for each organism, many of the critical steps along the way are not well understood. Furthermore, the ability to coerce cells to develop in ways outside of the normal developmental context (i.e. synthetic development) is a relatively new research area. The fields of stem cell biology, regenerative biology, and tissue engineering have long-term goals for using the knowledge of how cells and organisms develop to create novel solutions for disease modeling, drug testing, organ replacement, among other applications [1]. To date, there have been clear advances in the ability to differentiate cells into different types, but there is still a major struggle to steer cells into forming structured cellular masses that perform a systematic organ-like function. Furthermore, repeatability of the formation of structures as cells grow has been problematic. Recent efforts in human stem cell biology have demonstrated the successful recapitulation of development of human embryos in vitro up to 13 days post-fertilization [2, 3] but again, there is no control over the morphology formed at this small scale. 3D bioprinting is one proposed solution to this problem, but this does not always integrate well with genetic processes because placing different types of cells physically next to each other does not necessarily mean that the cells will behave as intended, had they been produced via cell divisions and genetic control.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 14, 2019
- Accession Number
- AD1187295
Entities
People
- George M. Church
Organizations
- Harvard Medical School