European scientists create artificial bone marrow prototype

Researchers have been able to create a promising new type of artificial bone marrow with numerous potential applications in future medical care.

Scientists at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Stuttgart and Tubingen University have created the new prototype, which features a porous structure possessing essential properties of natural bone marrow.

It is thought that this new material may be used to reproduce haematopoietic stem cells in a laboratory setting. These cells can be used for the treatment of blood diseases, such as leukaemia.

In most cases, patients' diseased tissue is replaced by healthy haematopoietic stem cells from an eligible donor, but this is not possible in all cases due to a lack of eligible transplant donors. Since the only way to produce these cells is inside the bone marrow, the development of an artificial alternative could have significant positive consequences.

The report noted that the artificial marrow can also be used to "study the interactions between materials and stem cells in detail at the laboratory".

Around 7,600 people are diagnosed each year with leukaemia, according to NHS data, with around 2,300 cases being acute myeloid leukaemia.