Sound Waves May Help In Regeneration Of Bones

Mar, 2022 - By SMI

Scientists used sound waves to transform stem cells into bone cells, in a tissue engineering development that one day could help patients regenerate bones lost to diseases such as cancer

Many cancer patients or people suffering from degenerative diseases lose bones due to the disease. Replacing or regrowth of these bones could be a complex and often painful procedure. Now researchers at RMIT developed a new way to turn stem cells into bone cells rapidly and efficiently with the use of high-frequency sound waves.

Stem cells are used in numerous medical application for regenerating different tissues in the body. However, regrowing bones with stem cells has been a difficult procedure all along. The researchers at RMIT discovered a simpler and quicker way for inducing mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) to transform into bone cells. As per earlier studies, the sound wave vibrations induce cell differentiation. However, it took time and gave mixed results. In the new study, the team of scientists used higher frequencies of sound waves. Using a microchip, the scientists generated sound waves in the MHz range and targeted it at MSCs in silicon oil put on a culture plate. The team found that exposing these cells 10 minutes to 10 MHz signals every day for five days is an ideal setup. This increased the levels of specific markers indicating the conversion of MSCs into bone cells.

When these stem cells start to turn into bone, they can be introduced at the site of an injury into a body. According to the scientists, this new method eliminates the requirement for drugs that help the stem cells in this procedure by pushing them in this path making the procedure faster and efficient. Moreover, the MSCs can be harvested from different parts of the body like fat tissue that are less invasive than bone marrow.