Prof. A. Hollander and his team have taken part in the creation of the world’s first bioengineered trachea as they have prepared autological chondrocytes. Monolayer culture of mesenchymal stem cell obtained from the patient’s bone marrow (BMSC), was grown in the chondrogenic medium where the cells differentiated into chondrocytes. Then the cells were plated at the decellularized donor framework using a bioreactor. A. Hollander and his colleagues have shown for the first time that chondrogenesis of adult stem cells can be induced by synthetic retinoic acid receptor inhibitor LE135, so pharmacological regulation of chondrogenesis is possible. According to A. Hollander’s hypothesis, matrix-free chondrocytes must be induced to migrate between the two tissue surfaces in order for effective cartilage integration to take place. A chondrocyte/collagen-scaffold implant system has been developed as a method of delivering dividing cells at the interface between two cartilage surfaces. The cartilage-implant-cartilage sandwich appeared macroscopically as one continuous piece of tissue at the end of 40 day cultures. In conclusion, cartilage integration can be achieved using a chondrocyte/collagen scaffold implant that permits controlled delivery of chondrocytes to both host and graft mature cartilage tissues. This approach has the potential to be used therapeutically for implantation of engineered tissue.
Place of employment — Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Stem Cell Biology Group University of Bristol, Great Britain.
Contacts — Senate House, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TH, UK+44 (0)117 33 12403 a.hollander@bristol.ac.uk .
Publications — Clinical transplantation of a tissue-engineered airway. Macchiarini P, Jungebluth P, Go T, Asnaghi MA, Rees LE, Cogan TA, Dodson A, Martorell J, Bellini S, Parnigotto PP, Dickinson SC, Hollander AP, Mantero S, Conconi MT, Birchall MA. Lancet. 2008 Dec 13;372(9655):2023–30. A double-chamber rotating bioreactor for the development of tissue-engineered hollow organs: from concept to clinical trial. Asnaghi MA, Jungebluth P, Raimondi MT, Dickinson SC, Rees LE, Go T, Cogan TA, Dodson A, Parnigotto PP, Hollander AP, Birchall MA, Conconi MT, Macchiarini P, Mantero S. Biomaterials. 2009 Oct;30(29):5260–9 Induction of cartilage integration by a chondrocyte/collagen-scaffold implant. Pabbruwe MB, Esfandiari E, Kafienah W, Tarlton JF, Hollander AP. Biomaterials. 2009 Sep;30(26):4277–86.
