Abstract
Objective: This study was designed to evaluate the ability of autologous tissue-engineered trachea
shaped in a helix to form the structural component of a functional tracheal replacement.
Methods: Nasal septum were harvested from six 2-month-old sheep. Chondrocytes and fibroblasts
were isolated from tissue and cultured in media for 2 weeks. Both types of cells were
seeded onto separate nonwoven meshes of polyglycolic acid. The chondrocyte-seeded
mesh was wound around a 20-mm-diameter × 50-mm-long helical template and then covered
with the fibroblast-seeded mesh. In 2 separate studies the implants were placed either
in a subcutaneous pocket in the nude rat (rat tissue-engineered trachea) or in the
neck of a sheep (sheep tissue-engineered trachea). Rat tissue-engineered tracheas
were harvested after 8 weeks and analyzed by means of histology and biochemistry.
Sheep tissue-engineered tracheas were harvested from the neck at 8 weeks and anastomosed
into a 5-cm defect in the sheep trachea. Results: Sheep receiving tissue-engineered trachea grafts survived for 2 to 7 days after implantation.
Gross morphology and tissue morphology were similar to that of native tracheas. Hematoxylin-and-eosin
staining of rat tissue-engineered tracheas and sheep tissue-engineered tracheas revealed
the presence of mature cartilage surrounded by connective tissue. Safranin-O staining
showed that rat tissue-engineered tracheas and sheep tissue-engineered tracheas had
similar morphologies to native tracheal cartilage. Collagen, proteoglycan, and cell
contents were similar to those seen in native tracheal tissue in rat tissue-engineered
tracheas. Collagen and cell contents of sheep tissue-engineered tracheas were elevated
compared with that of normal tracheas, whereas proteoglycan content was less than
that found in normal tracheas. Conclusions: This study demonstrated the feasibility of recreating the cartilage and fibrous portion
of the trachea with autologous tissue harvested from single procedure. This approach
might provide a benefit to individuals needing tracheal resection.
J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2002;123:1117-84.
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Article Info
Publication History
Accepted:
October 8,
2001
Received in revised form:
August 13,
2001
Received in revised form:
October 1,
2001
Received:
June 26,
2001
Footnotes
☆This study was funded by the University of Massachusetts Medical School and Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research.
☆☆Address for reprints: Joaquin Cortiella, MD, c/o Lawrence Bonassar, PhD, Center for Tissue Engineering, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 55 Lake Ave North, Worcester, MA 01603-3122 (E-mail: Lawrence.Bonassar@umassmed.edu ).
Identification
Copyright
© 2002 American Association for Thoracic Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
