Lab-Grown Esophagi Implanted in Rats

Working esophagi from stem cells could be used to aid cancer patients in the future

Jason Goldman / Flickr Creative Commons

Doctors have implanted bio-engineered tracheas in patients, and researchers have experimented with growing bladders and kidneys. Now, another organ joins that list: the esophagus, which brings food and water to the stomach.

An international team of scientists working at Kuban State Medical University in Krasnodar, Russia, has built a working esophagus from stem cells, and implanted the organ into rats, the researchers say. The new esophagus functioned just as well as the rats' natural organs, said the researchers, who detailed their work today (April 15) in the journal Nature Communications.

Every year, about 18,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with esophageal cancer, and others suffer from congenital defects, or are injured after medical procedures or swallowing caustic materials. Many of these cases require surgery, which can involve taking a section of the small intestine or the stomach to replace part of the esophagus.

Unfortunately, this isn't always the best solution. Patients can suffer complications, and many still have trouble swallowing solid food after surgery. [5 Crazy Technologies That Are Revolutionizing Biotech]

Researchers led by Paolo Macchiarini of the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm took a section of a rat's esophagus and removed the cells, leaving behind a scaffold of protein. Such "decellularization" is now a common technique for making structures for cells to latch onto when doing regenerative organ experiments.

To test whether the scaffold would be strong enough to stand up to repeated cycles of expansion and contraction, the scientists pumped air into it 10,000 times, allowing it to blow up and shrink.

The researchers then took stem cells called allogeneic mesenchymal stromal cells, which don't cause an immune reaction when implanted into tissue. Scientists placed these cells on the scaffold, allowing the esophagus to grow for three weeks.

They then implanted the esophagus into a rat, replacing up to 20 percent of its esophagus with the engineered version. They repeated this procedure in nine more rats.

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Lab-Grown Esophagi Implanted in Rats