Researchers herald new breakthrough by transplanting regenerated esophagus

Researchers have devised a new method to transplant regenerated esophagus.

The new method has been developed by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, within an international collaboration lead by Professor Paolo Macchiarini.

In this new study, the researchers created the bioengineered organs by using oesophagi from rats and removing all the cells. With the cells gone, a scaffold remains in which the structure as well as mechanical and chemical properties of the organ are preserved.

The produced scaffolds were then reseeded with cells from the bone marrow. The adhering cells have low immunogenicity which minimizes the risk of immune reaction and graft rejection and also eliminates the need for immunosuppressive drugs. The cells adhered to the biological scaffold and started to show organ-specific characteristics within three weeks.

The cultured tissues were used to replace segments of the oesophagus in rats. All rats survived and after two weeks the researchers found indications of the major components in the regenerated graft: epithelium, muscle cells, blood vessels and nerves.

Paolo Macchiarini, Director of Advanced center for translational regenerative medicine (ACTREM) at Karolinska Institutet, said they believe that these very promising findings represent major advances towards the clinical translation of tissue engineered esophagi.

The study has been published in journal Nature Communications.