AIMES - Crossing Borders with My Hedhammar
"Tissue models for drug development by capture of cells in a spider web"
Time: Wed 2021-10-06 10.00 - 11.00
Location: Zoom
Participating: My Hedhammar, KTH Royal Institute of Technology
We are happy to welcome My Hedhammar to give a talk with the following abstract:
To be able to replace animal trials for drug development, it is necessary to have in vitro models of human tissue that are physiologically relevant. In the human body, cells are supported by a fibrous network called the extracellular matrix (ECM). Traditionally, human cells are cultured on flat and hard culture ware in the lab. Increasing evidence shows that cells require a 3D environment that mimics the ECM network in order to form physiologically relevant tissue. We have developed a method to utilise the unique properties of spider silk to construct a 3D network mimicking the ECM in tissue. A partial spider silk protein is produced using recombinant technology, and engineered to contain a cell binding motif from fibronectin in native ECM. This biologically functionalized silk protein, BioSilk, has the unique silk property to self-assemble into a strong and elastic network of the same very fine dimensions as the ECM network. Thereby, BioSilk can be used to construct physiologically relevant models of for example skin and pancreatic islets. Moreover, a method for facile and high-throughput formation of tumour models for anti-cancer drug development and personalized drug screening is being developed.
Register and we will send you the meeting ID for Zoom via email. Register here.
Host: Ulrica Edlund
Vice Center Director AIMES
Most welcome,
Agneta Richter-Dahlfors
Center Director AIMES
AIMES - Center for the Advancement of Integrated Medical & Engineering Sciences
Web address for more information:
survey.ki.se/Survey/27189
Contact person:
Linda Thörn
E-mail:
linda.thorn@ki.se