Regrowth or replacement of bone that’s lost due to an illness is a complex and often painful process.
But, in a new study done by Australian researchers, there may be a simpler way to make stem cells turn into bone cells.
This method is fast and efficient and it uses high-frequency sound waves.
The Role of Sound Waves in Converting Stem Cells into Bones
Stem cells have a major potential to encourage the regeneration of body tissues, but bones have been found especially challenging to work with.
Bone originates from MSCs that are in the bone marrow. Collecting them is a painful procedure and then converting them into bone cells is complex to be scaled up on the appropriate levels.
Studies done before indicate that the vibrations of the sound waves can trigger cell differentiation, but it usually lasted more than a week and the results were mixed. These experiments were also limited to the low frequencies as they thought that the higher ones wouldn’t be beneficial.
In the new study, RMIT researchers investigated the higher frequencies.
How Was the Discovery Made?
The team implemented a microchip that produced sound waves in an MHz range and they directed it at MSCs in silicon oil on a culture plate.
They concluded that the best setup was exposing the cells to 10 MHz signals for 10 minutes per day for consecutive five days. This increased specific markers and this was an indicator that the conversion to bone cells was happening.
According to Leslie Yelo, co-lead of the study, they can use the sound waves to apply the right pressure to the adequate places in the stem cells and cause a changing process.
This isn’t an expensive device and it’s simple to use.
She adds that it can be used on a larger scale and treat a large number of cells at the same time, which is pivotal for effective tissue engineering.
When the cells begin differentiating into bone, they can be injected into a body at the location of the injury or illness or coated on an implant and ready for new bone growth.
What Are the Benefits of This Option?
The researchers note that this process is highly beneficial because it eliminates the need to use drugs that coax the stem cells and this speeds up the entire process and makes everything more efficient.
Moreover, the MSCs can be acquired from other areas of the patient’s body like fat tissue. This is less invasive than the extraction from bone marrow.
Anyway, the team will keep up their investigations on how to scale up the procedure to make it more practical.
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