Artificially Induced Biological Organs: A New Concept

Abstract

The biological repair process tends to cover a vascular prosthesis by normal arterial wall tissue. This process was successfully utilized in rats to form eventually a neo-artery induced by a temporary physiologically functioning prosthetic scaffold. Essential for the regeneration of a normal compliant neo-artery was the initial physiological campliance and the gradual degradation of the prosthetic grafts. Only then the regenerating neo-media was effectively stimulated by the pulsatile flow to produce elastic laminae. Regeneration of the arterial wall could be enhanced by seeding smooth muscle cells. The same concept was successfully applied to replace the trachea and oesophagus in rabbits. These results demonstrate that regeneration of biological organs can be induced by temporary acting artificial organs, which are anatomically correct and superior to permanently implanted artificially organs.