Jellyfish Extracellular Matrix Could Be Used To Develop Humanlike Organs, Tissues in Laboratory Settings

Jellyfish have evolved as they have been around even before the first dinosaurs. Experts discovered that their extracellular matrices are significant in the medicinal field.

Jellyfish Extracellular Matrices

According to the Smithsonian Ocean Portal, jellyfish are considered to have evolved between 500 and 700 million years ago. That is almost 250 million years in advance of the earliest dinosaurs.

The three layers that make up an animal are the epidermis on the outside, the mesoglea, or thick, elastic jelly, in the middle, and the gastrodermis on the inside.

Collagen and water are the two primary components of the mesoglea. These proteins may be used in medical contexts, according to researchers.

The proteins in the jellyfish come together to form a molecular scaffold that keeps the cells of the jellyfish together. The extracellular matrix is a molecular support structure that keeps the cells in our bodily tissues together. Extracellular matrices are a crucial component in creating a human-like organ in the lab or replacing a section of missing tissue.

Different kinds of extracellular matrix are found in different species. However, jellyfish extracellular matrices are similar to those of many other creatures, including humans and dinosaurs.

According to scientific theory, the extracellular matrix seen in jellyfish originated millions of years ago. It was an evolutionary model for all other extracellular matrix types found in modern species. It is known as the extracellular matrix (ECM) type zero by scientists for this reason.

The development of diverse humanlike organs and tissues in medical and laboratory settings may be supported by this ECM type zero, according to research from the National Physical Laboratory and the biotech business Jellagen Ltd.

The group investigated the characteristics of the extracellular matrix made of collagen found in Rhizostoma pulmo, often known as barrel jellyfish. Their invention is called JellaGel, and they expect it will offer a natural hydrogel structure that is devoid of biological pollutants, easy to use, and effective.

"It has been a long journey as it is a complex challenge for a small company to create, manufacture, and launch a hydrogel based on polymers such as Jellyfish collagen," Jellagen CEO Thomas-Paul Descamps said in a statement. "I am very impressed by the work delivered by the team. It is also very ambitious in a conservative market where there has been few innovations in the past. But as a result, there are a lot of improvements which can be brought against the competition. Because of the unique scaffold properties of Jellyfish collagen, we never gave up on this challenge and are now very proud to bring to the market such an innovative solution to grow cells."

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Seabed Mining Affects Jellyfish

Another study looked at the stress that seabed mining causes to jellyfish by upsetting their natural habitat.

Because jellyfish were extremely light-sensitive, the researchers studied helmet jellyfish at night. In the dark lab of the research ship, they grabbed about sixty organisms and kept them in temperature-controlled tanks to mimic the environment of disturbed, non-settling silt.

The gelatinous organisms were "highly sensitive" to sediment plumes, a condition intended to mimic the agitation of seabed deposits that can result from mining. Furthermore, the scientists observed " acute stress " in the animal samples, as evidenced by the activation of genes related to wound repair.

In addition, when their bodies were coated in silt, the jellyfish released excessive protective mucus. The specialists claim that because it takes energy to move or eat, the animals waste energy that they could have used for other purposes.