Valvulogenesis of a living, innervated pulmonary root induced by an acellular scaffold

• Published in: Communications biology Vol. 6; no. 1; pp. 1017 - 15
• Main Authors: Yacoub, Magdi H., Tseng, Yuan-Tsan, Kluin, Jolanda, Vis, Annemijn, Stock, Ulrich, Smail, Hassiba, Sarathchandra, Padmini, Aikawa, Elena, El-Nashar, Hussam, Chester, Adrian H., Shehata, Nairouz, Nagy, Mohamed, El-sawy, Amr, Li, Wei, Burriesci, Gaetano, Salmonsmith, Jacob, Romeih, Soha, Latif, Najma
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 07.10.2023; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 14/1; 14/28; 14/63; 692/4019/2773; 692/4019/2776; 692/4019/592; Biology; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Connective tissues; Extracellular matrix; Heart diseases; Life Sciences; Morbidity; Morphogenesis; Nerves; Quality of life; Regulatory sequences; Rheumatic heart disease; Tissue engineering
• ISSN: 2399-3642; 2399-3642
• DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-05383-z

Heart valve disease is a major cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide with no effective medical therapy and no ideal valve substitute emulating the extremely sophisticated functions of a living heart valve. These functions influence survival and quality of life. This has stimulated extensive attempts at tissue engineering “living” heart valves. These attempts utilised combinations of allogeneic/ autologous cells and biological scaffolds with practical, regulatory, and ethical issues. In situ regeneration depends on scaffolds that attract, house and instruct cells and promote connective tissue formation. We describe a surgical, tissue-engineered, anatomically precise, novel off-the-shelf, acellular, synthetic scaffold inducing a rapid process of morphogenesis involving relevant cell types, extracellular matrix, regulatory elements including nerves and humoral components. This process relies on specific material characteristics, design and “morphodynamism”. This study describes a method for in situ recruitment of relevant cells and extracellular matrix using a novel acellular scaffold to produce a living pulmonary root.