Artificial muscle sheets transform stem cells into bone

By manipulating a tissue culture scaffold, German biochemists were able to regenerate bone structure from sheets of artificial muscle.  “The researchers took a polymer sheet that acts like an artificial muscle. The sheet has the unusual property in that it is trained to reversibly morph when exposed to repeated temperature changes. The researchers simply moulded a grid onto the underside of the sheet and programmed it to stretch as the temperature went from body temperature (37 °C) to 10 °C and to contract when re-heated. They then seeded the sheet with stem cells, and carefully observed the changing shape of the gridded sheet and cells. With the help of this “artificial muscle,” the scientists could use one physical signal — the temperature change — to simultaneously send a second mechanical signal to the stem cells. With these synchronised stimuli it is possible to encourage the stem cells to turn themselves into bone cells.”    MORE

 Image Credit: Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht (HZG