File photo: A stranded mouse rests on a stick next to the rising waters of river Yamuna in New Delhi June 19, 2013. The rains are at least twice as heavy as usual in northwest and central India as the June-September monsoon spreads north, covering the whole country a month faster than normal. (REUTERS/Anindito Mukherjee)
Mice with 3D-printed ovaries have birthed healthy mouse pups. After being implantedwith the bioprosthetic ovaries, the previously infertile mothers saw an increase in hormone levels and began to ovulate before successfully conceiving and birthing young.
The ovaries were 3D-printedthrough an innovative technique developed by researchers at Northwestern University, whocreated a scaffold tohold immature eggs. Though the current technique was designed for mice, the research team's ultimate goal is to scale it up for humans.
"The main motivation is to develop a tissue-engineered replacement for women with impaired ovaries, Alexandra Rutz, co-lead author of the study, told Digital Trends. "Most of these women who have impaired ovaries are young cancer survivors. It's amazing how far cancer treatment has come, but this means the population of survivors who might have side effects to cancer therapy is increasing. One of those devastating consequences can be infertility.
For ink," the scientists used a unique gelatin, which was biocompatible, strong enough to hold up through surgery, and porous enough to integrate with the mouses body tissue.
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In humans, the researchers plan to take samples of a patients ovarian cells and preserve them before she goes into treatment. Once in remission, the cells would be seeded into the 3D-printed scaffold, which would then be implanted into the patient.
"In an ideal future, hospitals will have labs for manufacturing these types of bioprostheses, Rutz said. "This would include equipment and personnel for handling and preserving each patient's own cells along with a 3D printer that can be used to print implants of custom shapes, sizes, and materials.
The scientists' next steps will be difficult as theyll have to scale the scaffolds up significantly to accommodate larger animals. They will also be researching ways to optimize the implants for life-long performance.
A paper detailing the research was published this week in the journalNature Communications.
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