Title: Tissue engineering cartilage for human ear reconstruction
Funder: Action Medical Research

Abstract: Background_x000D_ There are a number of conditions affecting ear development in children. Microtia is a rare genetic condition in which children are born with a small or absent ear. It affects around one in 6,000 babies born in the UK. In addition to having some degree of hearing loss, looking different from other people can be difficult for children and their families and may cause psychosocial distress. Current treatment of microtia involves surgical reconstruction using cartilage from the child's ribs to create a new ear, which is then implanted. This surgery carries risks for the child - it can be very painful and may result in lung or chest wall damage and scarring. There is an urgent need to find new, safer and less-invasive ways of making ear implants for children who are unhappy with their appearance._x000D_ _x000D_ The research project_x000D_ The aim of this study is to use a patient's own cartilage-producing cells in conjunction with highly-specialised biomaterials to reconstruct the missing ear. These researchers have already extracted cartilage-specific stem cells from nasal tissue and cultured them in the laboratory. They plan to further investigate the best conditions for growing these cells and encouraging them to produce cartilage. The next step will be to add the cells to a special, plant-derived biomaterial called nanocellulose. This natural material encourages the cartilage cells to grow and can be modified in the laboratory to ensure it holds its shape and structure and is likely to be accepted by the body when implanted. The team aims to produce an exact replica of the patient's missing ear, made out of nanocellulose and loaded with the patient's own cartilage-producing cells, which can then be surgically implanted. The main focus of this project will be to optimise the properties of the nanocellulose material to ensure that the implants are of a high quality and robust. By using a patient's own cells, it will be possible to carry out reconstruction without taking tissue from elsewhere, sparing children the pain and potential complications associated with current surgical management. If successful, this tissue engineering approach could help children affected by a range of facial disfigurements, either present from birth, or caused by trauma, malignancy or burns. _x000D_ _x000D_ This Research Training Fellowship has been funded by a generous donation from the VTCT Foundation and should be referred to as the VTCT Foundation Action Medical Research Training Fellowship_x000D_ The researcher can be called the VTCT Foundation Action Medical Research Training Fellow. _x000D_

Lay abstract: Background_x000D_ There are a number of conditions affecting ear development in children. Microtia is a rare genetic condition in which children are born with a small or absent ear. It affects around one in 6,000 babies born in the UK. In addition to having some degree of hearing loss, looking different from other people can be difficult for children and their families and may cause psychosocial distress. Current treatment of microtia involves surgical reconstruction using cartilage from the child's ribs to create a new ear, which is then implanted. This surgery carries risks for the child - it can be very painful and may result in lung or chest wall damage and scarring. There is an urgent need to find new, safer and less-invasive ways of making ear implants for children who are unhappy with their appearance._x000D_ _x000D_ The research project_x000D_ The aim of this study is to use a patient's own cartilage-producing cells in conjunction with highly-specialised biomaterials to reconstruct the missing ear. These researchers have already extracted cartilage-specific stem cells from nasal tissue and cultured them in the laboratory. They plan to further investigate the best conditions for growing these cells and encouraging them to produce cartilage. The next step will be to add the cells to a special, plant-derived biomaterial called nanocellulose. This natural material encourages the cartilage cells to grow and can be modified in the laboratory to ensure it holds its shape and structure and is likely to be accepted by the body when implanted. The team aims to produce an exact replica of the patient's missing ear, made out of nanocellulose and loaded with the patient's own cartilage-producing cells, which can then be surgically implanted. The main focus of this project will be to optimise the properties of the nanocellulose material to ensure that the implants are of a high quality and robust. By using a patient's own cells, it will be possible to carry out reconstruction without taking tissue from elsewhere, sparing children the pain and potential complications associated with current surgical management. If successful, this tissue engineering approach could help children affected by a range of facial disfigurements, either present from birth, or caused by trauma, malignancy or burns. _x000D_ _x000D_ This Research Training Fellowship has been funded by a generous donation from the VTCT Foundation and should be referred to as the VTCT Foundation Action Medical Research Training Fellowship_x000D_ The researcher can be called the VTCT Foundation Action Medical Research Training Fellow. _x000D_

Research activity codes: 5.2 CELLULAR AND GENE THERAPIES;5.3 MEDICAL DEVICES
Health categories: EAR