Health & Fitness
Health and Fitness
Health and Fitness
Tue, December 23, 2008
Mon, December 22, 2008 Life Technologies' Solutions Enable Tissue-Engineered Transplant
CARLSBAD, Calif.--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Invitrogen, part of Life Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: LIFE), a provider of innovative life science solutions, announced today that GIBCO cell culture media products were used in an experimental procedure to replace the trachea of a woman whose lung had collapsed. The procedure was reported in the November 19, 2008 issue of Lancet, in an [ article ] by Macchiarini, et al, entitled "Clinical transplantation of a tissue-engineered airway."
Claudia Castillo, age 30, suffered a lung collapse as a result of long-term tuberculosis. Unable to care for her two children or perform simple tasks, Ms. Castillo's only traditional option was to have a lung removal, a risky procedure with a high mortality rate. Transplant of the trachea, or windpipe, was not an option because that tissue is very prone to rejection by the immune system.
Instead, doctors recommended an experimental procedure to strip donor tracheal tissue of the markers that often are responsible for transplant rejection as well as epithelial and glandular cells and cartilage-producing chondrocytes to serve as a tracheal scaffold. Epithelial cells were taken from Ms. Castillo's right bronchus to grow epithelial cells, and stem cells were isolated from her bone marrow and induced to differentiate into chondrocytes. The cultured cells were seeded onto the tracheal scaffold, housed in a bioreactor, and, within 24 hours, the cells had embedded into the scaffold. After four days in the bioreactor, the tissue-engineered airway was transplanted into Ms. Castillo to replace her damaged left bronchus.
Several GIBCO® products including DMEM, GlutaMAX™-I supplement, Keratinocyte-SFM and trypsin EDTA were used throughout the procedure to culture Ms. Castillo's cells. In addition to these products, Invitrogen offers many other stem-cell specific products such as StemPro® MSC SFM, the first serum-free medium for the growth and culture of mesenchymal stem cells, StemPro® Human Adipose-Derived Stem Cell Kits, which include adult stem cells derived from adipose tissue, and MSC Differentiation Kits, which allow researchers to induce differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells to either fat cells (adipocytes), cartilage cells (chondrocytes) or bone cells (osteocytes).
"We are committed to developing the highest quality solutions that will make advancements such as Ms. Castillo's transplant possible," said Joydeep Goswami, Vice President, Primary and Stem Cell Systems at Life Technologies. "We are especially pleased to have played a role in enabling this groundbreaking procedure that allowed her to regain her quality of life. Life Technologies looks forward to continuing to develop innovative tools to advance biological understanding and further the clinical applications of regenerative medicine."
Ms. Castillo was discharged 10 days following the procedure. After four months, the grafted airway had seamlessly integrated into the surrounding tissues and had normal appearance and mechanical properties, as well as functioning vasculature. Ms. Castillo can now care for her children and enjoy a normal quality of life.
About Life Technologies
Life Technologies (NASDAQ:LIFE) is a global biotechnology tools company dedicated to improving the human condition. Our systems, consumables and services enable researchers to accelerate scientific exploration, driving to discoveries and developments that make life even better. Life Technologies customers do their work across the biological spectrum, working to advance personalized medicine, regenerative science, molecular diagnostics, agricultural and environmental research, and 21st century forensics. The company has historical sales of approximately $3.5 billion, employs 9,500 people, has a presence in more than 100 countries, and possesses a rapidly growing intellectual property estate of over 3,600 patents and exclusive licenses. Life Technologies was created by the combination of Invitrogen Corporation and Applied Biosystems Inc. For more information on how we are making a difference please visit our website [ www.lifetechnologies.com ].
Safe Harbor Statement
Certain statements contained in this press release are considered "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and it is Life Technologies' intent that such statements be protected by the safe harbor created thereby. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: potential difficulties that may be encountered in integrating the merged businesses; potential uncertainties regarding market acceptance of Life Technologies and its products; Life Technologies' ability to protect its intellectual property rights; competitive responses to the merger; an economic downturn, including the deterioration in economic and market conditions currently being experienced; risks that revenues may be lower than expected; Life Technologies' ability to make accurate estimates and control costs; Life Technologies' and its partners' ability to bid on, win, perform and renew contracts and projects; the need to develop new products and adapt to significant technological change; exposure to environmental liabilities and litigation; liabilities for pending and future litigation; the impact of changes in laws and regulations; industry competition; Life Technologies' ability to attract and retain key employees; employee, agent or partner misconduct; risks associated with changes in equity-based compensation requirements; Life Technologies' leveraged position and ability to service debt; risks associated with international operations; third-party software risks; terrorist and natural disaster risks; anti-takeover risks and other factors; as well as other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in Life Technologies' Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
