Medical scientists at a Californian biotechnology laboratory have made a giant leap towards medical science by being able to grow completely active human skin inclusive of sweat glands and this breakthrough could revolutionize the way we address burns and skin wounds, henceforth.
It is not artificial skin but rather alive and breathing tissue that is able to sweat, heal and fit perfectly into the body.
The Technology Behind.
The skin was engineered by scientists at the Stanford Institute of Regenerative Medicine through the use of the high-tech stem cell engineering procedure and bio-printing of tissues.
They started with pluripotent stem cells which are cells that can differentiate to any form of human tissue.
The product is a skin tissue cultured in the laboratory that not only resembles the actual piece, but also behaves like it - a breakthrough in history as far as regenerative healing is concerned.
Why Sweat Glands Matter
Other efforts to develop human skin in the laboratory had been partially successful in the past, but none of them had succeeded in incorporating functional sweat glands which are a critical part of the body temperature regulation system and skin health.
Sweat glands also play a vital role in terms of hydration, elimination and regeneration of tissues. They were found to cause dryness, cracking and rejection in synthetic grafts.
This new skin however would have thousands of miniature, self-functioning glands that are capable of producing sweat and imitating actual physiological processes.
Healing Burn Victims a New Era of Regeneration.
In the case of patients with severe burns, the conventional approach is skin grafting, which is a transplantation procedure of healthy skin in one section of the body to another.
But grafts are painful, scarring or even infection may occur, are also limited in quantity.
Lab-grown skin also means that a doctor can now make a personalized tissue using the cells of the patient, removing the chances of rejection and allowing full healing of the injured areas.
It is not only curing but also a biological rebuilding.
Mechanism -The 3D Bioprinting Process.
The lab incorporated the use of 3D bioprinting which is an advanced method where cell cultures and biological molecules are stacked in a microscopic-scaffolding to create living tissue.
The printer uses digital models of human skin and prints various types of cells -keratinocytes, fibroblasts, and glandular cells- in specific patterns as would be found in the natural human skin.
After a number of weeks, the printed tissue will develop into a mature tissue in nutrient-rich conditions with developing structures of sweat ducts, hair follicles and blood circulation.
The outcome is a viable skin graft that is able to grow, heal and sweat like normal skin.
A Great Breakthrough in Regenerative Medicine.
Not only a medical breakthrough, this is a ray of hope to the millions of people across the world that live with burns, wounds and scars.
The ability of doctors to permanently replace damaged tissue with natural looking and functioning material is very likely to happen in the near future, which was not thought to be possible previously.
This technology can also be applied to curing:
• Chronic wounds and ulcers
• Psoriasis.
Cosmetic reconstruction: reconstruction following an accident or surgery.
Clinical Testing and Safety
The California group has been experimenting with the skin on lab animals and so far the results have been encouraging - the grafts appeared on lab animals and started to sweat in a few weeks.
The human trials should be approved in the coming years in case of FDA.
Should it succeed, it would be the first commercially available regenerative skin therapy in the world - the start of bioengineered replacement of organs.
The Future Growing Organs, Not Skin Only.
The success of this project opens the possibility of bioengineered organs; such as heart, kidneys and lungs, through similar processes using stem-cells.
Through the knowledge on how to reproduce the complicated biological systems such as sweat glands, scientists are coming to know how to create whole organs out of nothing.
Ethical and Environmental Impact.
In contrast to transplants made with donor skin, artificial skin raises less reliance on human donors and animal experimentations.
It is a moral, sustainable model, which makes use of renewable biological resources - it is in line with the future of environmentally friendly medicine.
A New Definition of Healing
The technology defines the healing process differently. Rather than suturing the wound, a physician will be able to recreate the skin just like it was prior to the damage, with all the nerve endings, texture, and natural resistance.
Clients, who used to have scarred lives permanently, might have a full-fledged healing, both with physical and emotional damages.
Outside of Medicine Cosmetic and Commercial Uses.
It might become an alternative to the existing skin treatment procedure, allow healing without leaving any scars, and even provide the opportunity to test the new skincare or pharmaceutical products in an ethical and safe manner.
Conclusion: A Future in which science will heal humankind.
The success of the California lab is an amalgamation of technology and biology, which may help to redefine the human recovery.
A full-time, full-color, skin with sweat glands made out of cells may well be a medical marvel, but it is also an indication of the way science is learning to recreate life itself.
To the burn victims, this finding is a second opportunity to live and not merely survive.
And to the human race, it is evidence that we are not machines, but the miracles which we make inside ourselves.