Perspectives on whole-organ assembly: moving toward transplantation on demand
Alejandro Soto-Gutierrez, … , Harald C. Ott, Thomas W. Gilbert
Alejandro Soto-Gutierrez, … , Harald C. Ott, Thomas W. Gilbert
Published November 1, 2012
Citation Information: J Clin Invest. 2012;122(11):3817-3823. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI61974.
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Perspectives on whole-organ assembly: moving toward transplantation on demand

Abstract

There is an ever-growing demand for transplantable organs to replace acute and chronically damaged tissues. This demand cannot be met by the currently available donor organs. Efforts to provide an alternative source have led to the development of organ engineering, a discipline that combines cell biology, tissue engineering, and cell/organ transplantation. Over the last several years, engineered organs have been implanted into rodent recipients and have shown modest function. In this article, we summarize the most recent advances in this field and provide a perspective on the challenges of translating this promising new technology into a proven regenerative therapy.

Authors

Alejandro Soto-Gutierrez, Jason A. Wertheim, Harald C. Ott, Thomas W. Gilbert

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Figure 1

Schematic representation of the paradigm of regenerative medicine showing the conversion of whole-organ decellularization with cellular developmental biology and biomedical engineering.

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Cells from nontransplantable donor organs or animal sources are removed using various chemical and enzymatic agents, usually including detergents and trypsin. Candidate cells used to repopulate these organ matrices range in developmental stages from pluripotent stem cells to mature, freshly isolated cells — though the optimal cell source for this purpose has yet to be identified. The assemblage of cells and organ scaffolds are cultured together in whole-organ bioreactors that recapitulate the body’s natural milieu, including fluid pressure, pH, dissolved oxygen, and growth factors for future clinical transplantation, or as a platform to conduct whole-organ biological and pharmacological studies.