A perioperative layered autologous tissue expansion graft for hollow organ repair

Oliver Willacy; Nikolai Juul; Loai Taouzlak; Clara I Chamorro; Fatemeh Ajallouiean; Magdalena Fossum

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e25275

A perioperative layered autologous tissue expansion graft for hollow organ repair

Heliyon. 2024 Jan 24;10(3):e25275. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e25275. eCollection 2024 Feb 15.

Authors

Oliver Willacy^{1

2}, Nikolai Juul^{1

2}, Loai Taouzlak³, Clara I Chamorro⁴, Fatemeh Ajallouiean^{3

5}, Magdalena Fossum^{1

2

4}

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Tissue Engineering, Rigshospitalet, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
² Division of Pediatric Surgery, Department of Surgery and Transplantation, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.
³ Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, 2800: Kgs, Lyngby, Denmark.
⁴ Laboratory of Tissue Engineering, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
⁵ The Danish National Research Foundation and Villum Foundation's Center for Intelligent Drug Delivery and Sensing Using Microcontainers and Nanomechanics (IDUN), Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Ørsted Plads, 2800: Kgs, Lyngby, Denmark.

Abstract

Tissue engineering has not been widely adopted in clinical settings for several reasons, including technical challenges, high costs, and regulatory complexity. Here, we introduce the Perioperative Layered Autologous Tissue Expansion graft (PLATE graft), a composite biomaterial and collagen-reinforced construct with autologous epithelium on one side and smooth muscle tissue on the other. Designed to mimic the structure and function of natural hollow organs, the PLATE graft is unique in that it can be produced in a standard operating theatre and is cost-effective. In this proof-of-principle study, we test its regenerative performance in eight different organs, present biomechanical and permeability tests, and finally explore its in vivo performance in live rabbits.

Keywords: Biomaterials; Hydrogel; PLATE graft; Tissue engineering; Tissue expansion; Translational medicine.