SCIENTISTS in the region have developed technology to grow stem cells in a laboratory in conditions similar to the way they grow in the human body.

The technology, developed by scientists at Durham University and ReInnervate Limited, owned by the university, allows cells to be grown in a more realistic three-dimensional form compared to the traditional flat surface of a Petri dish.

Evidence gathered by the research team shows that the technology is a cheap and straightforward way of cultivating cells in 3D.

Using it could lead to more successful drug development programmes and a reduction in unnecessary tests on animals.

A study proving the effectiveness of the technique, funded by ReInnervate and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), is published today in the Journal of Anatomy.

A large proportion of drugs fail at the testing stage, costing industry millions of pounds in research and development costs and failed drugs trials every year.

At the moment, most drugs in development are first tested on cells grown in standard laboratory equipment such as Petri dishes, but cells in the human body form tissues and grow in more complex, 3D ways.

The new study tested the toxic effects of a cancer drug called Methotrexate (MTX) on liver cells grown in three and two dimensions.

When subject to doses of MTX, cells grown in 2D died at very low concentrations, whereas 3D cells were far more robust and more accurately reflected the behaviour of cells in the human body.

Dr Stefan Przyborski, a senior researcher with Durham University and chief scientific officer of ReInnervate, has tested ten tissue types using the technique.

It uses a "scaffold" made of porous polystyrene, about the size of a ten pence piece. It is riddled with tiny holes that scientists are able to fill with cells.