Descrizione del progetto
Far progredire l’ingegneria tissutale biomimetica
L’attivazione della riparazione endogena dei tessuti sta emergendo quale interessante strategia della medicina rigenerativa. Sono pertanto necessarie soluzioni avanzate di ingegneria tissutale che imitino il processo naturale di rigenerazione e l’organizzazione gerarchica dei tessuti nativi. Il progetto ATLAS, finanziato dal Consiglio europeo della ricerca, intende sviluppare soluzioni tissutali ingegnerizzate in 3D che incorporino spunti fisici e biochimici rilevanti per le nicchie delle cellule staminali, come la segnalazione cellulare, la struttura della matrice extracellulare e i segnali meccanici. I ricercatori svilupperanno biomateriali basati su macromolecole marine in grado di facilitare l’attaccamento delle cellule e la degradazione controllata. L’osso sarà il primo sistema modello, ma le metodologie possono essere applicate per lo sviluppo di una varietà di microtessuti per la modellizzazione di malattie e la scoperta di farmaci.
Obiettivo
New generations of devices for tissue engineering (TE) should rationalize better the physical and biochemical cues operating in tandem during native regeneration, in particular at the scale/organizational-level of the stem cell niche. The understanding and the deconstruction of these factors (e.g. multiple cell types exchanging both paracrine and direct signals, structural and chemical arrangement of the extra-cellular matrix, mechanical signals…) should be then incorporated into the design of truly biomimetic biomaterials. ATLAS proposes rather unique toolboxes combining smart biomaterials and cells for the ground-breaking advances of engineering fully time-self-regulated complex 2D and 3D devices, able to adjust the cascade of processes leading to faster high-quality new tissue formation with minimum pre-processing of cells. Versatile biomaterials based on marine-origin macromolecules will be used, namely in the supramolecular assembly of instructive multilayers as nanostratified building-blocks for engineer such structures. The backbone of these biopolymers will be equipped with a variety of (bio)chemical elements permitting: post-processing chemistry and micro-patterning, specific/non-specific cell attachment, and cell-controlled degradation. Aiming at being applied in bone TE, ATLAS will integrate cells from different units of tissue physiology, namely bone and hematopoietic basic elements and consider the interactions between the immune and skeletal systems. These ingredients will permit to architect innovative films with high-level dialogue control with cells, but in particular sophisticated quasi-closed 3D capsules able to compartmentalise such components in a “globe-like” organization, providing local and long-range order for in vitro microtissue development and function. Such hybrid devices could be used in more generalised front-edge applications, including as disease models for drug discovery or test new therapies in vitro.
Campo scientifico
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacydrug discovery
- medical and health sciencesmedical biotechnologytissue engineering
- medical and health sciencesmedical biotechnologycells technologiesstem cells
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinephysiology
- engineering and technologyindustrial biotechnologybiomaterials
Programma(i)
Argomento(i)
Meccanismo di finanziamento
ERC-ADG - Advanced GrantIstituzione ospitante
3810-193 Aveiro
Portogallo