Human tissue has improved medical research and development. Human-based analysis using organs-on-a-chip, 3D bioprinting, and more produces results more relevant to human physiology than traditional cell or animal tests.
These tests can help reduce animal preclinical testing, often producing data that doesn’t translate to humans. However, accessing tissue for this purpose can be challenging.
Human Tissues and Cells
Whether it is developing drugs or understanding diseases, human tissue research is essential to ensure that findings from cell-based models and animal studies are validated in the actual body of a human. Research in tissue examples and cells has led to significant advances in science, technology, and medical care. But researchers transitioning from animal to human tissues may not know how best to obtain and use these critical biospecimens for their research.
A biopsy is taken during a medical procedure to diagnose or treat a condition. The tissue that isn’t needed for diagnosis or treatment is usually donated to medical research. Patients who agree to donate their tissue are typically informed of what will happen to it and its journey.
The cells within a piece of tissue are tightly packed and organized to perform specific functions. There are four main types of tissue: epithelial, connective, muscle, and nervous. Each has unique morphology and function.
During the pre-clinical stage of drug development, the goal is to identify which drugs have promising results in cell-based models and animals. However, these results must be confirmed in human tissues before a drug can proceed to the next clinical trial phase. Using fresh, donated human tissues can help scientists troubleshoot clinical observations that may differ between cells, animals, and humans, such as unexpected safety effects observed in patients.
Biobanking
Biobanks are collections of tissue samples with associated patient data and demographic information. They are essential resources for research in human diseases and are increasingly replacing traditional research in animal models. Biomarker-based analysis using biobanks can help researchers produce results faster, reduce development time, and increase the likelihood of a successful therapeutic product reaching patients sooner.
Typically, participants in a biobank study sign a broad consent to allow their sample and data to be used in different examinations for different purposes. This can be challenging for researchers who need to track which model is used for which analysis. To make things easier, the FRAME team has worked with several biobanks to create a standardized system to identify and track each specimen.
One example which collects a variety of biological materials from each patient. This includes blood, urine, and tissue. In addition to the biological samples, the biobank contains patient-level information from questionnaires and medical records. This data and the illustrations help researchers get a complete picture of each patient’s background. The information is then made available to researchers within the community and outside partners. This is done with each patient’s consent and by international best practices and standards (see Biobanking: Getting Started for more information). The data is stored securely in a system only registered researchers can access.
Tissue-on-a-Chip
In recent years, there have been advances in biomedical technology, including tissue chips that mimic the structure and function of human organs. These devices are used to test the safety and efficacy of potential drugs. These devices also help reduce the amount of required animal testing.
This is an essential step in reducing the number of animals used in research, and it allows researchers to study diseases in their actual human context. This type of research can improve the speed and accuracy of drug development. It can also reduce the cost and duration of clinical trials. It can provide better predictions of how effective a therapeutic would be in humans and make the transition between animal and human research more accurate.
The tissue-on-a-chip technique combines modern biological engineering with computer technology to combine small models of human tissues, such as the lung and liver, on a transparent microchip. These devices are designed to simulate human physiology and can also be used to detect disease biomarkers.
The devices can be populated with cells from human donors. These samples can be obtained from patients who have undergone surgery or people donating their bodies after death. They can be made of various materials, including plastics and silicon, and they may include a network of microchannels to guide and manipulate the tissues.
Stem Cells
Stem cells are the body’s building blocks and can transform into any cell type required by the tissue. They can be found in embryonic tissues and adult bone marrow and blood. They also play an essential role in forming specialized cells within our bodies, like blood, skin, and adipose tissue. They can also be used to grow specialized cells for transplantation to treat diseases and injuries.
The ability of stem cells to divide indefinitely and produce a wide range of specialized cells gives them enormous potential for use in regenerative medicine and other areas such as drug discovery, disease modeling, gene therapy, and immunotherapy. These cells can replace damaged or diseased cells in the body and have shown promise as a replacement for lost partitions due to genetic conditions such as thalassemia or severe burns.
Scientists are developing methods to cultivate various organs and tissues from stem cells in the laboratory. These are known as organoids. These tiny 3D cell cultures resemble miniature organs. They can be manipulated to mimic the structure of a patient’s tissues, providing an invaluable resource for understanding the underlying causes of many diseases, including some that currently have no cures.
Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are derived from the inner cell mass of an early-stage human embryo (4 days after fertilization) and can give rise to all cell types in the body. They are named pluripotent because they can develop into any cell type in the body.
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