Essay about tissue engineering with Genomics
Tissue engineering with Genomics
CHUNG YEON LEE
2016 Bioinformatics
1. What is Tissue engineering?
1] Characteristic of tissue
Tissue is made of cells and extracellular matrix. ECM is like a home of cells. Cells reside in ECM can obtain oxygen and nutrients as well as discharge wastes via tissue with fluid, blood and lymph.
Interstitial matrix which is an inner structure between cells and basement membrane which connects to epithelium are two basic compartments of ECM.
2] Research
The thing that can be applied is the function of ECM. Mechanical supporting for cell anchorage, determination of cell orientation or tissue shape, controlling of cell growth, maintenance of cell differentiation and also I think the amount or type of growth factor is also a key factor in the researched to be considered.
2. How we can combine tissue engineering with genomics in biological research?
As a future researcher, I thought about two ways of approaching.
First goal is individual tissue regeneration. Let’s say one kid is hurt while playing with balls and got some scratch. In the future, this kid might just sit on the table with 3D bio-printer and can be healed easily. The steps are like this. First, by using Genomics (here we can use a technology of like’ 23 and me company), the genome information of kid can be obtained. Second, by using somatic cell and the genome of kid, make IPS stem cell. In this step other types of adult stem cells can be used, too. Third, cells are loaded in the bio-ink and the cells with ECM can be put on the spot of injury of kid.
Second, a reconstruction of a skin or even an organ for patient is possible by combining genomics and tissue engineering. For the reconstruction of parts of body especially for patients, genomics is essential because it can determine the characteristic or defeats of cells. Here, we have to find why the patient has a problem in the genetic level, first. For example, there is a patient who has stripped skin or there is a patient with abnormal shape of ear, all of them are because of the malfunction of genome. So genetics can be used in the first step. And after that, based on the reason, the reconstruction can be started. In the former case of patient, tissue engineering can help him or her by replacing the superficial tissue but also genetic therapy should be accompanied to fix the inner deep most part of the body. In the later case of patient, the printing technology with bio-ink which is mentioned in the first approach can be applied.
Like this, I think genetics have a power to make an organism totally different so that based on the genetics, tissue engineering can have much more flexible ways of approach in the research field.
