J.Jpn. Surg. Soc.. 113(5): 419-423, 2012

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Feature topic

DECELLULARIZED SCAFFOLD AS A PLATFORM FOR NOVEL REGENERATIVE THERAPY

New methods to facilitate recovery from end-stage organ failure are needed since only limited treatment options are available in this context, including replacement therapy such as hemodialysis or organ transplantation. Recent progress in the field of tissue engineering has opened attractive approaches for clinical applications of regenerative medicine which could be an option in this regard. Of these, tissue decellularization technology, which retains all the necessary cues for cell maintenance and homeostasis, such as the three-dimensional structure of the organ and its extracellular matrix components, has recently been applied to whole organs. It has demonstrated efficacy in generating an engineered graft that is transplantable by vascular anastomosis. Several different therapeutic targets have been explored and applied clinically. However, the use of this technology in the context of the digestive organs is still under investigation, which is more difficult because of their complicated three-dimensional structure and complex functioning. We applied this technology to the liver and demonstrated its efficacy in recellularized hepatocyte function and three-dimensional structure that was anatomically feasible for transplantation. Recent progress in stem cell technology will facilitate this new method as a novel platform for functional organ grafting in patients with organ failure.

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