Gene therapy to regenerate bones New Method Stimulates Patient’s Body To Produce Bone-Building Protein

London: Scientists claimed to have developed a new method which can mimic real bone tissue and regenerate bones using gene therapy. 

    Researchers from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) have developed a method of repairing bone using synthetic bone graft substitute material, which combined with gene therapy, can mimic real bone tissue and can regenerate bone in patients who have lost large areas of bone from either disease or trauma. 
    The researchers have developed an innovative scaffold material made from collagen and nano-sized particles of hydroxyapatite which acts as a platform to attract the body's own cells and repair bone in the damaged area using gene therapy. The cells are tricked into overproducing bone producing proteins known as BMPs, encouraging regrowth of healthy bone tissue. The method can be applied to regenerate tissues in other parts of the body. 
    "Previously, synthetic bone grafts had proven successful in promoting new bone growth by infusing the scaffold material with bone producing proteins," professor Fergal O'Brien, Principal Investigator on the project said in a statement. 
    "These proteins are already clinically approved for bone repair in humans but concerns exist that the high doses of protein required in clinical treatments may have negative side effects such as increasing the risk of cancer," O'Brien added. 
    "By stimulating the body to produce the bone-producing protein itself these negative side effects can be avoided and bone tissue growth is promoted efficiently and safely," O'Brien said. PTI 
Computer chips to replace trial animals 
    American scientists are developing computer chips to mimic the human organs to be used for drug development and prevent the death of thousands of laboratory animals. The five-year long 'Tissue Chip for Drug Testing' programme, worth $70 million, is being funded by three giant US agencies, the Daily Mail reported. Scientists at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University will focus on the multi-organ chip device. Researchers at Vanderbilt University in Nashville are working on the micro-brain bioreactor, which like the organ chip will contain human cells. Each 'organ' will be about the size of a computer memory stick. PTI