Yale Ex Vivo Perfusion Research Published in Nature

BioMedInnovations announced the publication of research in Nature from the Sestan Laboratory at Yale School of Medicine examining the capacity of the mammalian brain to restore certain cellular and circulatory functions following a prolonged post-mortem interval.

The research built upon an earlier relationship between BioMedInnovations and the Sestan Laboratory, which had acquired BMI perfusion technology to support its ex vivo brain research. In the published study, the Yale team’s custom BrainEx system incorporated a pulse generator built by BioMedical Innovations to produce physiologic pulsatile flow within the perfusion circuit. 

The study investigated intact porcine brains under ex vivo normothermic conditions beginning four hours after death. Researchers reported restoration and maintenance of microcirculation along with certain molecular and cellular functions, including active cerebral metabolism and spontaneous synaptic activity. Importantly, researchers found no evidence of the organized global electrical activity associated with consciousness. 

The researchers also observed preservation of tissue architecture, reduced cell death, and restoration of vascular and glial responses. The findings suggested that some cellular functions in the mammalian brain may retain a greater capacity for restoration following prolonged interruption of circulation than previously appreciated. 

The work also demonstrated the potential of ex vivo perfusion as a research platform, allowing investigators to study complex organ physiology under controlled conditions outside the body. For BioMedInnovations, the publication represented a significant application of its pulsatile perfusion technology within a novel research system developed by the Yale team.