How to 3D print human tissue - Taneka Jones

Prevoditelj: Ivan Nekić Recezent: Sanda L

There are currently hundreds of thousands of people on transplant lists,

Trenutno ima stotine tisuća ljudi na listama za transplantaciju,

waiting for critical organs like kidneys, hearts, and livers

koji čekaju kritične organe poput bubrega, srca i jetre,

that could save their lives.

koji bi mogli spasiti njihove živote.

Unfortunately,

Nažalost,

there aren’t nearly enough donor organs available to fill that demand.

broj raspoloživih organa donora ne može zadovoljiti tu potražnju.

What if instead of waiting,

Što kad bismo umjesto čekanja

we could create brand-new, customized organs from scratch?

mogli nanovo stvoriti posve nove, prilagođene organe?

That’s the idea behind bioprinting,

To je ideja bioispisa (bioprinting),

a branch of regenerative medicine currently under development.

ogranka regenerativne medicine koji je još u razvoju.

We’re not able to print complex organs just yet,

Još ne možemo ispisivati složene organe,

but simpler tissues including blood vessels and tubes

ali jednostavnija tkiva, uključujući krvne žile i cijevi

responsible for nutrient and waste exchange

potrebne za izmjenu hranjivih tvari i otpada,

are already in our grasp.

su nam već dostupna.

Bioprinting is a biological cousin of 3-D printing,

Bioispis je biološki rođak 3D ispisa,

a technique that deposits layers of material on top of each other

tehnike koja slaže slojeve materijala jedan na drugi

to construct a three-dimensional object one slice at a time.

kako bi stvorila trodimenzionalni objekt sloj po sloj.

Instead of starting with metal, plastic, or ceramic,

Umjesto rada s metalom, plastikom ili keramikom,

a 3-D printer for organs and tissues uses bioink:

3D pisač za organe i tkiva koristi biotintu:

a printable material that contains living cells.

ispisni materijal koji sadrži žive stanice.

The bulk of many bioinks are water-rich molecules called hydrogels.

Osnova mnogih biotinta su molekule bogate vodom, zvane hidrogel.

Mixed into those are millions of living cells

U njih su umiješani milijuni živih stanica

as well as various chemicals that encourage cells to communicate and grow.

te različite kemikalije koje potiču rast i komunikaciju stanica.

Some bioinks include a single type of cell,

Neke biotinte sadrže jednu vrstu stanica,

while others combine several different kinds to produce more complex structures.

dok druge kombiniraju nekoliko različitih vrsta za proizvodnju složenijih struktura.

Let’s say you want to print a meniscus,

Recimo da želite ispisati meniskus,

which is a piece of cartilage in the knee

što je komad hrskavice u koljenu

that keeps the shinbone and thighbone from grinding against each other.

koja sprječava da se potkoljenična i bedrena kost međusobno taru.

It’s made up of cells called chondrocytes,

Načinjena je od stanica zvanih hondrociti

and you’ll need a healthy supply of them for your bioink.

pa je potrebno zdravo ubacivanje istih u biotintu.

These cells can come from donors whose cell lines are replicated in a lab.

Te stanice mogu potjecati od donora čije stanične linije laboratorij replicira.

Or they might originate from a patient’s own tissue

Ili mogu potjecati od tkiva samoga pacijenta

to create a personalized meniscus less likely to be rejected by their body.

kako bi stvorile personalizirani meniskus s manjom vjerojatnošću odbacivanja.

There are several printing techniques,

Postoji nekoliko tehnologija ispisa,

and the most popular is extrusion-based bioprinting.

a najpopularniji bioispis je na bazi ekstruzije.

In this, bioink gets loaded into a printing chamber

Tu se biotinta puni u komoru za ispis

and pushed through a round nozzle attached to a printhead.

i istiskuje kroz okruglu mlaznicu pričvršćenu na glavu za ispis.

It emerges from a nozzle that’s rarely wider than 400 microns in diameter,

Izlazi iz mlaznice koja je rijetko šira od 400 mikrona u promjeru,

and can produce a continuous filament

i može proizvoditi neprekidnu nit

roughly the thickness of a human fingernail.

debljine otprilike ljudskoga nokta.

A computerized image or file guides the placement of the strands,

Računalna slika ili datoteka vodi postavljanje niti

either onto a flat surface or into a liquid bath

na ravnu površinu ili u tekuću kupu

that’ll help hold the structure in place until it stabilizes.

koja pomaže držati strukturu na mjestu dok se ne stabilizira.

These printers are fast, producing the meniscus in about half an hour,

Ti pisači su brzi, proizvedu meniskus u otprilike pola sata,

one thin strand at a time.

slažući nit po nit.

After printing, some bioinks will stiffen immediately;

Nakon ispisa, neke biotinte se odmah skrutnu;

others need UV light or an additional chemical or physical process

nekima je potrebno UV svjetlo ili dodatni kemijski ili fizikalni proces

to stabilize the structure.

za stabilizaciju strukture.

If the printing process is successful,

Ako je proces ispisa uspio,

the cells in the synthetic tissue

stanice sintetičkoga tkiva

will begin to behave the same way cells do in real tissue:

počet će se ponašati na isti način kao i stanice pravoga tkiva:

signaling to each other, exchanging nutrients, and multiplying.

slanjem signala jedna drugoj, razmjenom hranjivih tvari i razmnožavanjem.

We can already print relatively simple structures like this meniscus.

Već možemo ispisivati relativno jednostavne strukture poput meniskusa.

Bioprinted bladders have also been successfully implanted,

Bioispisani mjehuri također su već uspješno implantirani,

and printed tissue has promoted facial nerve regeneration in rats.

a ispisano tkivo potaknulo je regeneraciju živca lica kod štakora.

Researchers have created lung tissue, skin, and cartilage,

Istraživači su stvorili plućno tkivo, kožu i hrskavicu,

as well as miniature, semi-functional versions of kidneys, livers, and hearts.

kao i minijaturne, polufunkcionalne verzije bubrega, jetre i srca.

However, replicating the complex biochemical environment

Međutim, repliciranje kompleksnoga biokemijskoga okruženja

of a major organ is a steep challenge.

nekoga većega organa je velik izazov.

Extrusion-based bioprinting may destroy

Bioispis na bazi ekstruzije može uništiti

a significant percentage of cells in the ink if the nozzle is too small,

značajan postotak stanica u tinti ako je mlaznica premala,

or if the printing pressure is too high.

ili ako je tlak ispisivanja prevelik.

One of the most formidable challenges

Jedan od najvažnijih izazova je

is how to supply oxygen and nutrients to all the cells in a full-size organ.

opskrbiti kisikom i hranjivim tvarima sve stanice u organu pune veličine.

That’s why the greatest successes so far

Zato su najveći uspjesi do sada

have been with structures that are flat or hollow—

bili sa strukturama koje su plošne ili šuplje,

and why researchers are busy developing ways

i zato se istraživači trude razviti načine

to incorporate blood vessels into bioprinted tissue.

za ugraditi krvne žile u bioispisano tkivo.

There’s tremendous potential to use bioprinting

Postoji ogroman potencijal za korištenje bioispisa

to save lives and advance our understanding

pri spašavanju života i unaprjeđenju razumijevanja

of how our organs function in the first place.

u prvom redu kako funkcioniraju naši organi.

And the technology opens up a dizzying array of possibilities,

A tehnologija otvara vrtoglav niz mogućnosti,

such as printing tissues with embedded electronics.

poput ispisa tkiva s ugrađenom elektronikom.

Could we one day engineer organs that exceed current human capability,

Hoće li jednog dana proizvedeni organi premašivati trenutne ljudske sposobnosti,

or give ourselves features like unburnable skin?

ili nam dati sposobnosti poput kože koja se ne može opeći?

How long might we extend human life by printing and replacing our organs?

Koliko možemo produžiti ljudski život ispisom i zamjenom svojih organa?

And exactly who—and what—

Te tko — i što točno —

will have access to this technology and its incredible output?

će imati pristup ovoj tehnologiji i njezinu nevjerojatnom učinku?