By Nikki Elmi
The idea of using spinach leaves to regenerate heart tissue might sound like something out of science fiction, but it is a fascinating and promising field of research. This innovative approach leverages the unique properties of spinach leaves to address significant challenges in tissue engineering, potentially revolutionizing treatments for heart disease and other conditions.
Regenerating heart tissue is crucial because heart disease remains the leading cause of death worldwide. Current treatments, such as heart transplants, are limited by the availability of donor organs and the risk of rejection. Scientists are thus exploring ways to grow heart tissue in the lab to repair damaged hearts. Creating functional, vascularized heart tissue that can integrate seamlessly with a patient's existing heart tissue would represent a significant breakthrough, potentially saving millions of lives each year (WPI) (livescience.com). Interestingly, the vascular structures of leaves and animal tissues share remarkable similarities. Both exhibit a network of veins (in leaves) or blood vessels (in animal tissues) that facilitate the transport of nutrients and oxygen, which is essential for tissue viability and function. This structural resemblance makes leaves, an excellent candidate for use as scaffolds in tissue engineering (WPI) (livescience.com).
Fig. 1. Comparison of animal and plant vascular network pattern branching and structures. A rat heart was decellularized, and was perfused with a Ponceau Red stain to visualize the vasculature. A Buddleja davidii leaf was perfused with fluorescein-labeled PEGDA to visualize the leaf vasculature.
Spinach leaves are a surprisingly apt choice for this purpose due to their vascular structure, which closely resembles the intricate network of blood vessels in human tissues. Researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) discovered that the veins of a spinach leaf could be used to transport fluids, similar to how blood vessels transport blood in human tissue. By stripping the plant cells from the spinach leaf through a process known as decellularization, they created a scaffold made of cellulose, a biocompatible material that does not trigger immune responses. This decellularization involves perfusing a detergent solution through the leaf’s veins to remove plant cells while preserving the vascular architecture. The result is a cellulose-based scaffold that retains the leaf’s vascular structure, providing an ideal framework for human cells to attach, grow, and form new tissue (WPI) (EurekAlert!) (livescience.com). This scaffold can then be seeded with human cells, which can grow and form new tissue. The cellulose scaffold is particularly advantageous because it is biocompatible and has been used in various regenerative medicine applications, such as cartilage and bone tissue engineering (WPI) (EurekAlert!).
Figure. 2. Steps in Using Spinach Leaves for Tissue Engineering The process involves cannulating the leaf, perfusing it with a detergent to decellularize it, and then assessing its effectiveness as a tissue engineering scaffold. The patency of the leaf's vasculature is checked, followed by recellularization with human cells such as human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC), human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC), and human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hPS-CM). This method exploits the structural similarities between plant veins and animal blood vessels.
While the initial results are promising, further research is needed to optimize the decellularization process and understand how different human cell types interact with plant-based scaffolds. Future studies will focus on ensuring the long-term viability and functionality of the engineered tissues, as well as exploring the potential of other plant species for various types of tissue regeneration. This interdisciplinary approach, combining plant biology and biomedical engineering, holds the potential to overcome current limitations in tissue engineering and pave the way for new, sustainable medical treatments (WPI) (EurekAlert!) (livescience.com).
Citation:
1. British Heart Foundation. (2020). Regenerative medicine: Repairing the heart. Heart Matters Magazine. Retrieved from https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/research/regenerative-medicine
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3. Gershlak, J. R., Hernandez, S., Fontana, G., Perreault, L. R., Hansen, K. J., Larson, S. A., ... & Gaudette, G. R. (2017). Crossing kingdoms: Using decellularized plants as perfusable tissue engineering scaffolds. Biomaterials, 125, 13-22. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0142961217300856
4. Gaudette, G. R., Gershlak, J. R., Dominko, T., Rolle, M. W., & Weathers, P. (2017). Beating human heart tissue grown from spinach leaves. Live Science. Retrieved June 21, 2024, from https://www.livescience.com/58390-heart-tissue-grown-spinach-leaves.html
5. Wolchover, N. (2017, March 22). Human heart tissue grown on spinach leaves. National Geographic. Retrieved June 21, 2024, from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/human-heart-spinach-leaf-medicine-science
6. Worcester Polytechnic Institute. (2017, March 22). WPI team grows heart tissue on spinach leaves. ScienceDaily. Retrieved June 21, 2024, from https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170322152753.htm
By Nikki Elmi Assessed and Endorsed by the MedReport Medical Review Board