每日新闻人工肌肉组织研究有着重大进展双语.docxVIP

　　Duke University researchers and other scientists are making strides in growing muscle in the lab that not only repairs itself but exhibits strength similar to that of normal muscle.　　Using lab-grown muscle could one day help people with certain muscle injuries, including accident victims with big gashes that lead to significant scar tissue. Engineering muscle that works like natural tissue could also accelerate the testing of new drugs: Scientists could use this tissue in place of animals.　　Scientists have succeeded in developing ears, windpipes and livers, among other body parts, and even implanted some into humans. Muscle is among the more challenging because the fibers need to have the right structure and fit densely together. It must also be able to contract and exert force like natural muscle. And it needs good blood supply to cells, which can be difficult because muscle is very dense.　　Skeletal muscle, the most abundant tissue in the body, typically is very good at repairing itself because it contains many adult stem cells that can create new muscle fibers. With diseases like muscular dystrophy or injuries that cause scar tissue, muscle stops being able to regenerate, which can lead to difficulty moving or even paralysis. Scar tissue, made of collagen, doesnt generate force and thus weakens the muscle. During normal aging, muscles also become weaker and gradually cease being able to repair themselves.　　The hurdle is if there is an injury to try to get new muscle tissue that can form quicker than scar tissue, says Herman Vandenburgh, a pioneer in the field and a professor emeritus of pathology and laboratory medicine at Brown University.　　For about two decades, scientists have been trying to grow muscle in the lab that exerts force and repairs itself, in hopes of one day helping to restore functioning in patients. Understanding the process of muscle regeneration may lead to better understanding of the muscle-wasting process that occurs with aging or disease.