Scientists Synthesize Jawbones From Pig Fat - The New York Times

In a paper published in Science Translational Medicine on Wednesday, she and her colleagues reported a surprising success: They managed to grow replacement bones, along with their joints, from the stem cells of pigs.

The researchers say they hope the same sort of technique may someday be used to grow other replacement bones and joints, including knees.

Even if the strategy works, however, it will be years before those who need new jawbones or joints can have them engineered from their own cells.

Eisig said.

Vunjak-Novakovic in which she reported engineering a human TMJ condyle — a relatively small piece of bone shaped like a knuckle — from stem cells she had taken from human fat.

The bones, from which cow cells had been removed, were shaped with computer-guided milling so that each bone would be made precisely for an individual animal.

The stem cells needed to create bone were derived from the pigs’ own fat, removed with liposuction.

The investigators designated one group of stem cells to turn into bone and placed them inside the scaffold.

The team directed another group of stem cells to grow into cartilage, placing those cells atop the scaffold.

Eisig has waited decades for an advance like this one, he said