The synthetic organ is constructed from gelatin-based biomaterials like hydrogel and is reinforced with nanoparticles and seeded with cells. It mimics lymphoid tissue and converts B cells into germinal centers. B cells make antibodies that respond to infectious invaders and germinal centers activate, mature and mutate their antibody genes when the body is under attack.
The organ could lead to increased understanding of B cell functions, an area of study that typically relies on animal models to observe how the cells develop and mature. Additionally, the organ could be used to study specific infections — like Ebola and HIV — and how the body produces antibodies to fight those infections.
“In the long run, we anticipate that the ability to drive immune reaction ex vivo at controllable rates grants us the ability to reproduce immunological events with tunable parameters for better mechanistic understanding of B cell development and generation of B cell tumors, as well as screening and translation of new classes of drugs,” said Ankur Singh, PhD, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Cornell.
