Human airway cells self-assemble into "anthrobots" that help neurons regrow
Clusters grown from adult human tracheal cells formed motile, cilia-driven constructs, and in a dish, groups of them encouraged neurons to grow across a scratched area.
What happened
Researchers grew human tracheal epithelial cells under conditions that turned their cilia outward, so the resulting spheroids could swim. These "anthrobots" came in a few distinct shapes and movement patterns. When placed on a layer of human neurons that had been scratched, clusters of anthrobots stimulated neurons to grow across the gap beneath them.
Why it matters
The work extends synthetic morphology from frog embryo cells to adult human cells taken from a patient. That points to a possible future in which personalized biobots made from a patient's own cells could help repair tissue without triggering immune rejection.
Caveats
The repair effect has only been seen in a dish, its mechanism is unknown, and the constructs are not designed for any specific function. Any therapeutic use is a long way off.
Motile Living Biobots Self-Construct from Adult Human Somatic Progenitor Seed Cells
Read at Advanced Science ↗