Amama fabric made by mammalian cells

2002/01/18 Galarraga Aiestaran, Ana - Elhuyar Zientzia

• Materialak
• Genetika
• Zoologia

The yarn produced by spiders is more resistant than Kevlar and more elastic than nylon. To make the thread, spiders produce water-soluble proteins, which then pass through a small hole, spinning the thread that forms the fabric.

Despite attempts made over the last 100 years to obtain material of these special characteristics, the results were not satisfactory. Unlike silk-producing worms, spiders are carnivorous and cannot grow into large groups. In order to find a solution, some researchers came up with copying the spider process through genetic engineering. In this way, the genes encoding the proteins of the fabric tried to introduce them into the DNA of other living beings so that they could produce thread. After testing with bacteria, yeasts and plants, the trials were suspended, as the results were not desired.

Now, in the journal Science has released the experiment conducted in the Canadian biotechnology laboratories Nexia. There the genes capable of producing the thread have been transferred to mammalian cells, and they seem to have achieved what they were looking for, on the one hand because the thread has the same characteristics as that of the spider web and, on the other, because they believe that a large amount is easily attainable.

To achieve this, Nexia biologists recombined these genes with the DNA of two types of cells: the DNA of cow breast cells, because proteins are unbeatable in extracellular secretion; and the DNA of hamster renal cells, which are able to produce a large amount of recombined proteins. Both types of cells secreted easily stored proteins outside the cell. Subsequently, to thread the thread with these proteins, they were removed from the aqueous dissolution and injected into methanol. Proteins are organized in the form of fibers. Although this new fiber is not as flexible as the spider, researchers believe it was due to the use of one of the two proteins that use spiders. In any case, they consider it to be an important step forward.

It is believed that artificial tendons and moorings can be built. On the other hand, the U.S. military also has a great interest, since from the Korean war to the present time it has sought a similar fiber to make resistant and light armor.