Laboratory for Fundamental Research in Regenerative Medicine

• The Laboratory has developed methodologies for developing the technology of regenerative medicine: cultivation of cells, selection of cell lines with subsequent specific differentiation in applications to tissue engineering cell therapy.
• Our researchers have developed an original bioreactor for growing cell cultures and tissues; a protocol of decellularization and recellularization with development criteria for evaluation of quality of produced tissue engineering matrices.
• We have developed unique samples of decellularized organs and tissues such as: diaphragm, heart, lungs, esophagus, tissue, kidney – on models of smalls and large laboratory animals.
• Our researchers have proposed state-of-the-art biophysical methods of evaluation of quality of decellularization of biological matrices that do not have counterparts in the world.
• We have performed an orthotopic transplant of a tissue-engineer structure of diaphragm of a rat ad proven potential possibility of recovery of functions of graft of skeletal muscle tissue. We are currently conducting works to study molecular mechanisms of regeneration and apoptosis.

Implemented results of research:

• The Laboratory has obtained 7 patents for inventions: «A bioreactor», «A method of creation of bioengineering frameworks for lungs of rats», «A method of modeling of bioengineered framework of the heart in an experiment involving rats», «A method of evaluation of quality of decellularization of matrices for producing bioengineering transplants», «A method of recovery of functional properties of tissue-engineered structure of the diaphragm», «A method of express evaluation of viability of cells in tissue-engineered structures», «A method of preparing frameworks for creation bioengineered structures of esophagus in an experiment».
• We have obtained a certificate of state registration of the software program «DAB proteomics analyzer».

Education and career development:

• Two candidate dissertations have been defended.
• We have conducted schools for young scientists in regenerative medicine.
• The Laboratory has developed the electronic lecture course «Regenerative medicine – medicine of the future» for students and postgraduates.

Other results: A major part of project implemented at the Laboratory is extensions of functional perception of mechanisms of regeneration and recovery of damaged tissues using tissue-engineered structures based on decellularized and synthetic matrices. These can be used in cell biology, transplantology, surgery, for creation of bioengineered organisms as implants replacing damaged organs and tissues.

Collaborations:

• Kurchatov Institute (Russia), Research Institute of Medical Primatology (Russia), I.P. Pavlov First Saint Petersburg State Medical University (Russia), S.V. Ochapovskiy Regional Clinical Hosbital No. 1 of the Ministry of Health of the Krasnodar region (Russia): joint research