"Organoids" and Bladder Cancer Research

Interesting in the fact the article is 7 years old. Means we are that much closer to a solution!

Thanks loads, Alan. That link worked!! This is the research I sort of vaguely referred to....where the new bladder is grown from the patient's own bladder cells in tissue culture.

The "organoids" are grown from totally undifferentiated stem cells which have the potential to become almost any kind of cell, depending the the conditions.

In both cases...exciting IHMO research!!!

SA

See if this works: www.bio-medicine.org/biology-news-1/Jefferson-urologists-studying-regenerated-neo-bladder-to-help-spinal-cord-injury-patients-695-1/

Jefferson urologists studying regenerated neo-bladder to help spinal cord injury patients









Date:10/5/2007 [Outline] [RSS & Subscription]









Urologists at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital are studying whether a neo-bladder construct grown from a patients own cells can improve bladder function for adult spinal cord injury patients.

Jefferson is only one of six sites in the U.S. enrolling participants in this clinical trial for the lab-grown neo-bladder construct that will involve a total of 10 patients.

Its never been done in adults before, said primary investigator Patrick Shenot, M.D., instructor in Urology, Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, noting that a similar study is being conducted with children with spina bifida.

The neo-bladder constructs are being developed by Tengion, Inc. in their pilot manufacturing facility.

Each neo-bladder construct consists of a biodegradable scaffold seeded with urothelial and smooth muscle cells cultured in Tengions facility from the patients own bladder cells.

To participate in the study, a patient must be 18 to 65 years of age, have had a spinal cord injury for more than a year and diagnosed with a neurogenic bladder that is not adequately responding to medical therapy.

The urologist first performs a biopsy on the patient to retrieve the cells. The cells are then sent to Tengions manufacturing facility where they are grown in culture and then seeded onto a biodegradable scaffold in the shape of a bladder.

Then, the patient returns to hospital and the urologist will implant the neo-bladder construct in a procedure known as augmentation cystoplasty or bladder augmentation.

The neo-bladder is expected to continue to regenerate within the patient, using the bodys inherent regenerative capabilities, and if successful may result in improved bladder function, Dr. Shenot noted.

The field of regenerative medicine is anticipated to be an area of intense interest and expansion in the coming years, said Dr. Shenot.

While this first trial in adults is for pat



Contact: Jeff Baxt
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215-955-5507
Thomas Jefferson University
Source:Eurekalert

Alan, how about trying that link again....it won't open for me!!

Thanks

Sara Anne

Here is some more on the subject: www.bio-medicine.org/biology-news-1/Jefferson-urologists-studying-regenerated-neo-bladder-to-help-spinal-cord-injury-patients-695-1/

Some very exciting research has recently been reported which may eventually have great significance for all types of cancer, including bladder cancer. Scientists from such places as Vienna, Austria, and Cincinnati, Ohio, have produced “organoids” using stem cells from mature adult tissue.

What are organoids? They are pieces of laboratory-produced tissues which are identical to tissue produced by the body in forming its multiple organ systems. Organoids reported in the scientific literature so far include brain tissue, intestines, and stomach!

Why is this exciting news for research into bladder cancer and other types of cancer? Of course there is the possibility that, someday, new organs might be grown as replacements for those removed due to cancer (research into producing new bladders using a different approach is underway in several centers.) It should also be possible to have samples of tissue as a laboratory model of many cancers to use in testing therapeutic modalities. However, even more exciting is the information that this organoid research may provide as to what factors govern a layer of embryonic cells’ journey from undifferentiated fertilized egg into a bladder, stomach, or any of the other many types of cells in the body. And, of course, cancer results when the process of cell division goes haywire.

For an easily-understood summary of this recent research, I recommend

www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21629221-organoids-derived-stem-cells-help-show-how-embryos-develop-and-why-adults-get

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/10/141019151800.htm

Sara Anne