Sheffield scientists develop new methods of "grow your own" cartilage
SCIENTISTS at the University of Sheffield are developing new methods of growing human cartilage in the laboratory, to help treat joints damaged by injury or arthritis.
Dr Anthony Hollander, lecturer in the medical school's department of human metabolism and clinical biochemistry, has been awarded a two-year grant of £74,808 from medical research charity the Arthritis Research Campaign to carry out the work.
Taking cells from human cartilage, using them to grow new cartilage outside the body, then reintroducing the engineered tissue back into the affected joint, is an exciting method of treating damaged joints, developed over the past few years.
"But the drawback in trying to treat arthritis in this way is that the destructive agents that caused the original disease can also destroy the new cartilage," explained Dr Hollander. "One way around the problem may be to introduce genes into the new cartilage cells whilst they are in culture, that give them protection against damage."
Dr Hollander and his team are now devising a method to introduce genes into cartilage cells and want to test their ability to protect the tissue.
The implications – both scientific and clinical – are significant. Cartilage engineered in this new way could be of enormous benefit to patients whose joints have been damaged either through injury or arthritis. "It could also provide a powerful scientific tool for the analysis of cartilage structure," added Dr Hollander.
The ARC also awarded an equipment grant of £13,500 to Dr Hollander's colleague Dr David Buttle, for related work into cartilage destruction.
The charity, whose headquarters are based in Chesterfield, last year raised almost £23m through public donations to fund research to find the cause of and cure for arthritis and all forms of rheumatic disease. It currently funds research worth more than £1.5m in Sheffield.
