By Emily Jones - February 8, 2022
JERUSALEM, Israel – For the first time in history, Israeli scientists have engineered spinal cord implants that could potentially be used one day to treat paralyzed patients.
Researchers from Tel Aviv University’s Sagol Center for Regenerative Biotechnology extracted fat tissue used genetic engineering to transform it into stem cells. These stem cells were then used to build 3D models of spinal cord tissue that could be implanted into animal models in the laboratory.
“Our technology is based on taking a small biopsy of belly fat tissue from the patient. This tissue, like all tissues in our body, consists of cells together with an extracellular matrix (comprising substances like collagens and sugars). After separating the cells from the extracellular matrix we used genetic engineering to reprogram the cells, reverting them to a state that resembles embryonic stem cells – namely cells capable of becoming any type of cell in the body,” Prof. Tal Dvir said in a statement.
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