SATURDAY, Oct. 8, 2005 (HealthDay News) -- Using cells from amniotic fluid, researchers at Children's Hospital Boston were able to reconstruct defective tracheas (windpipes) in fetal lambs.
The researchers used to the cells from the amniotic fluid to grow sections of cartilage tube. These living grafts were then implanted into the lambs while they were still in the womb. This is one of several tissue-engineering methods developed at Children's Hospital Boston that uses the fetus's own cells -- taken from the amniotic fluid that surrounds it -- to create tissue to repair birth defects, the researchers said.
They were to present the findings Saturday at the American Academy of Pediatrics' annual conference, in Washington, D.C.
Sheep are considered a good model for research because lambs grow quickly and are similar in size to human babies.
The researchers said that amniotic fluid, which is easily collected, contains unspecialized cells called mesenchymal stem cells. These stem cells can be used to make many of the tissues needed to repair birth defects. Less than two tablespoons of amniotic fluid contain enough fetal stem cells to repair a malformation while the baby is still in the womb or after birth --potentially even many years later, the researchers said.
Study leader and pediatric surgeon Dr. Dario Fauza said there may come a time when amniotic fluid is banked for future use.
"Fetal cells are the best cells you can have for tissue engineering. They grow very well and they're very plastic -- you can coach them to do what you want," Fauza said in a prepared statement.
Currently, most tissue engineers use adult cells to create laboratory-grown tissues.
Last year, Fauza and his team reported using fetal stem cells to repair congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) in newborn lambs. CDH is a hole in the diaphragm that separates the lungs from the visceral organs.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is currently reviewing Fauza's application to conduct a clinical trial in human babies with a prenatal ultrasound diagnosis of CDH. The amniotic fluid would be collected several months before birth and a tissue-engineered patch would be ready for use soon after delivery, the researchers said.
More information
The U.S. National Institutes of Health has more about stem cells.
