Scientists at the University of Michigan have created for the first time artificial human bone marrow that can produce red and white blood cells.

The substance grows on a 3-D scaffold that mimics the tissues supporting bone marrow in the body, said Nicholas Kotov, a professor in the U-M departments of Chemical Engineering; Materials Science and Engineering; and Biomedical Engineering.

Nicholas Kotov who led the research said “This is the first successful artificial bone marrow”. “It has two of the essential functions of bone marrow. It can replicate blood stem cells and produce B cells. The latter are the key immune cells producing antibodies that are important to fighting many diseases.” He continued.

There are so many benefits of this discovery:

1. It could lead to simpler pharmaceutical drug testing
2. Closer study of immune system defects
3. Continues supply of blood for transfusions
4. It allows researchers to test how a new drug at certain potencies would affect bone marrow function, Kotov said. This could assist in drug development and catch severe side effects before human drug trials.

The researchers demonstrated that the artificial marrow gives a human-like response to an infectious New Caledonia/99/H1N1 flu virus. This is believed to be a first.

Resouces – Bone Marrow Donor Program - UrekAlert -