Paolo Macchiarini often utters the word "fiction" when he wants something to praise. Temperamental Italian film as a hero, he easily passes from desperate exclamations like "Everybody wants me dead!" (It's about colleagues envious) to the delight of the prospects of rapid research, promising salvation new lives.
We Paolo dinner at a restaurant in the Olympic Village in Sochi - here hosts conference "Genetics of aging and longevity," which from all over the world have gathered the top experts in the field of anti-aging.
Despite the Ukrainian event to participate, no one refused, and as Macchiarini, and he did not have to cross the border. In fact, he is a scientist on a planetary scale - almost a potential Nobel Prize winner.
But for several years Makkiarini directs the Center for Regenerative Medicine, Medical University of Kuban. Entice professor in Krasnodar managed using megagranta Russian government 150 million rubles. With this money and set up a center.
- Here, I do not need to chase donations and can focus on saving patients. Incidentally, the record - I am referring to Mr. Putin: please give me a Russian passport as Depardieu! - Makkiarini laughs.
- In exchange for a new heart for nego-
Policy here at the conference perceive a rather unusual angle.
- We have a patient from the Crimea, which is waiting for transplantation of the trachea in 2011 - says Paolo. - I watched it a few times, but could not operate: he would have to pay for it, the hospital can not take free of a foreign citizen. But now Russia seized ... oh, that is annexed Crimea, and we can do it for free operation - that's why I am very happy! In early June, we will operate.
How to grow organs
Technology of production of the trachea, developed Makkiarini - pride and main achievement of regenerative surgery, the innovative field of medicine that deals with growing bodies. In 2008, he held the world's first transplant patient trachea grown from her own stem cells to the donor framework in the bioreactor, in 2009, carried out another unique operation: this time the body was formed inside the patient's body without the use of a bioreactor. Finally, in 2011, performed the first operation to transplant a human organ entirely grown in the laboratory on an artificial frame, that is, without the use of donor organs.
In Russia Makkiarini first came in 2010 - at the invitation of the "Science for Life Extension" held in Moscow master class in regenerative medicine. He soon made the first in Russia transplant surgery trachea girl who after a car accident could not talk and even walk because of breathing problems. The girl recovered, Makkiarini won megagrant and began to conduct their operations in our country, all the while adding to them something new. Recently, he and artificial windpipe transplanted to the patient of the larynx.
- How can you grow apart from the body of Person of the - I can not grasp.
- Generally speaking, it is impossible. Of adult cells to grow a body will not work. In addition to the cells need something else - the donor organ or artificial skeleton.
At first, we did so: take donor organ - the human or animal (usually pig) and freed him from the genetic material, that is from the cells. For this purpose, the body is placed in a special liquid dissolving muscle and other tissue cells to a left frame of the connective tissue, the mesh fibers. Do any body have the framework, giving it the form - called the extracellular matrix. Frame purified from cells of the organ taken from a pig, is not rejected by the human immune system, but it still has a problem: you can accidentally bring the virus, well, and in many people it causes rejection, such as Muslims. So the best thing was to use the framework of the human heart taken from a deceased donor.
But in 2011, we have mastered the technology that does not require donors in general, - the creation of a synthetic skeleton. It is produced by the size of the patient, such a tube is of resilient plastic and the nanocomposite material. This is a real breakthrough: synthetic frame frees us from donors - and for children, for example, they often never find - removes bioethics and makes the operation much more accessible.
- But what of the tube to make a living organ-working
- In the bioreactor!
- It's something like bioprintera-
- No - laughing Makkiarini - bioprinter allows simple tissue, blood vessels such as, but not complex organs. A bioreactor - a device in which optimal conditions for cell growth and reproduction. He provides them with food, breathing, removes metabolic products. In the bioreactor, we sow to the frame mononuclear cells - the patient's cells isolated from the bone marrow. It is this type of stem cell that can turn into specialized cells of different organs. Frame within 48 hours acquires these cells, and we encourage them to turn into cells of the trachea. And the body is ready, it can be transplanted to the patient. The body does not reject it, because it was grown from the patient's own cells.
Brain, heart and penis
- You're not going to be limited trachea-
- The following are the esophagus and diaphragm. Now we test them on animals. And then the first grown heart works - probably in collaboration with the Texas Heart Institute.
The Kuban has nursery monkeys for medical research - if you succeed, we will experience them work in the lab-grown heart. Generally speaking, there are many such things make it much easier than in Europe or the United States. So after a few years, this technology will reach the clinic. There is a good chance that the first human heart is grown in Russia.
- What organs are needed most
- I am often treated with strange requests. Once president, it seems, the World Society of homosexuals asked him to make the penis.
- Second penis - an interesting idea!
- No, the only reason it was not. But I could not help him, nothing in the penis do not understand. And the queen asked to do. People do not only want to prolong life, and they are unhappy not only because of the disease - they do not give rest to all sorts of crazy desires.
But we do not do all these things fashionable. What we are really trying to do - is to grow testicles, because so many children suffering from testicular cancer or birth defects. But, unfortunately, the stem cells do not get converted into cells of the testes, and we were forced to stop these studies.
In general, of course, we try to work on the fact that most need our patients. Here Elena Gubarev now makes a very important project for the cultivation of the diaphragm. If everything works, it will save thousands of children who are born without a diaphragm and die because of it.
- What will be the most difficult organs grow-
- Heart, liver, kidneys. That is not difficult to grow them - today it is feasible to establish any organs and tissues. But to get them to function properly, the body needs to produce the substance is very difficult. Grown in the laboratory, they stop working after a few hours. The problem is that we do not fully understand how they work.
But maybe we do not need to grow them - I dream about how to use stem cells to restore the function of these organs. You can in fact stimulate the regeneration processes in the body. This fantastic attractive and cheap solution: anyone, even in the poorest country has its own stem cells, and do not need any organ transplants!
- Many need time to grow human organ-
- Depends on its complexity. Trachea we grow for 3-4 days, for the heart is required 3 weeks.
- A brain can grow-
- Yes, I dream to catch some politicians and replace the brain. And the eggs at the same time. But seriously, growing brain in my plans.
- How your successes are collegial
- Oh, it's a complicated topic - grustneet Makkiarini. - When you do something completely new for the first time in history, you always scolded. And as much time will pass before people will accept what you are doing! I still criticize, and hard, because I do insane, unprecedented things. People are very jealous of the success of colleagues: I attacked a lot, trying to maximize complicate my job, sometimes very dirty ways.
- What is the most difficult part of your job and living
- In my life- Yes I have no privacy. Everything is running! The hardest part - not a science, but these attacks colleagues, their jealousy. If they at least do it with respect! No, total disrespect, no human relationships, only competition. I have published dozens of articles in leading scientific journals, but I still say that I have no evidence that our methods work. They are ready to criticize everything in the world, even as I go to the toilet.
I have so many problems because of this jealousy, I was always terribly crushed. Perhaps that's the price to pay each pioneer. But we will save lives - it is so beautiful, it's worth any attack ... Wait, I want tiramisu! Tiramisu! Tiramisu! And the US, please.
- What are you dream-
- In a personal planet to take a boat and sail away from all. And no more contact with the world. Just me and my dog - enough for me. A professionally dream is to save people without organ transplantation - by cell therapy. Wow! It would be fantastic, just fantastic great!
- When the technology of cultivation will be massively available in developed-countries
- The technology of growing trachea has worked almost to perfection. If we continue clinical trials in Krasnodar, a couple of years accumulate enough evidence that this method is safe and effective, and it will be used in other places. It depends on the number of patients especially well, and many other things. And I'll deal with the esophagus, diaphragm, heart ... I think that progress will be rapid, especially in Russia. Gather patience and wait - see for yourself.
- Interestingly, a new body for my brain can be grown-
- This is why-
- To prolong life and youth, of course.
- I do not understand why you young body again to conquer thousands of Girl Bored same live too long.
- Something I still do not get bored, quite the contrary.
- Well, I do not know. I'm sick of this life! You, Russian, always encourage everyone to fight against aging. You philosophers and dreamers, you seem awfully important purely philosophical problems.
- What is there to philosophical, that can be a natural love for life-
- You want to fight with nature, and I believe our bodies are already perfect. Look at yourself. No, it is better not to themselves, but to the girls - nature made them perfect, who am I to fight the neutron
- You are already struggling, making operation.
- Wow, what an unusual conversation we started. These occur only in Russia ...
We argued for a long time - until we were kicked out of the restaurant closing.
Who still managed to lure in Russia via megagrantov
The program aims megagrantov - to attract leading scientists to Russian universities. Already held four such competition. The first was held in 2010, the last - in 2014. In the result, Tate megagranty received 163 Russian and foreign scientists. Many of them are celebrities, there are even several Nobel laureates. "PP" introduces some of them
Sidney Altman
Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1989, Professor Yale will develop antibacterial and antiviral drugs at the Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine SB RAS in Novosibirsk.
Jörn Thiede
The famous German specialist in the field of marine geology and deep-water drilling, head of the laboratory "paleogeography and geomorphology of the polar regions and the World Ocean" at the Faculty of Geography and Geo St. Petersburg State University, who has been studying climate change in the Arctic and the rationale for the rights of Russian Arctic shelf.
Ronald Inglehart
Political Science and Sociology from the United States, Professor, University of Michigan, is engaged in a comparison of values in different countries; working in Russia at the Higher School of Economics.
Osamu Shimomura
Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2008, the creator of luminous green rabbits and pigs, explores the bioluminescence in Krasnoyarsk Siberian Federal University.
Antonio Luque Lopez
Physicist, inventor and millionaire, professor of the University of Madrid, is engaged in Petersburg Fiztekh developing new types of solar cells.
Mario Biadzholi
Professor, Department of Science and Technology Studies at the University of California at Davis, who led the study of sociology of scientific and technological entrepreneurship at the European University in St. Petersburg.
Pavel Pevzner
Program Director for Bioinformatics and Systems Biology at the University of California (San Diego), director of the National Center for Computational Mass Spectrometry, creates a unique laboratory for the Russian algorithmic biology, where scientists will be engaged in reading genomes.
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