Lab-Grown Pig Tissue Could Create New Oesophagus for Babies Within Five Years
A groundbreaking study from Great Ormond Street Hospital has revealed that children born with missing sections of their oesophagus could receive lab-grown transplants using pig tissue within the next five years. This innovative approach offers new hope to families affected by this rare congenital condition.
Revolutionary Transplant Technology
Researchers have successfully developed the first lab-grown organ by combining a pig's oesophagus with the recipient's own cells. In a two-month trial, pigs given these engineered food pipes were able to swallow and eat normally without requiring drugs to prevent organ rejection. All eight pigs survived the first thirty days post-transplant, with five remaining alive after six months.
Dr Marco Pellegrini, senior researcher at Great Ormond Street Hospital and University College London, explained the process: "Our technology could allow us to build a child a new oesophagus, using their own cells, collected in a surgery they are having anyway, combined with a ready-prepared scaffold from pig tissue."
The procedure involves creating a scaffold from a donor pig's oesophagus, which is stripped of all pig cells to serve as a tube-shaped base. Muscle cells from the recipient are then multiplied in the laboratory and injected directly into this scaffold. The tube is placed in a special container where growth fluids are pumped through the tissue for one week.
Addressing a Critical Medical Need
Approximately 180 children are born in the United Kingdom each year with oesophageal atresia, a condition where part of the oesophagus is missing. In about one in ten cases, classified as long-gap oesophageal atresia, the gap is too large to close immediately after birth. These infants typically require feeding tubes for months before undergoing surgery.
Current treatment options include an operation known as a gastric pull-up, which brings the stomach into the chest. However, this procedure can lead to complications such as reflux into the lungs, potentially causing long-term lung disease and necessitating further surgeries.
Professor Paolo De Coppi, consultant paediatric surgeon at Great Ormond Street Hospital, highlighted the significance of this research: "The oesophagus is a really complex organ, without a blood supply from its own vessels, so it cannot be transplanted in the way you might expect. To develop alternatives, it is essential to work with animal models that closely reflect human anatomy and function."
Family Perspectives and Future Applications
The breakthrough has been described as "life-changing" by parents of affected children. Two-year-old Casey McIntyre from London, born with 11 centimetres of his food pipe missing, has undergone multiple major operations. His mother, Silviya Lukanova, shared their experience: "He's had major operation after major operation as we simply couldn't get the gap to close using his own tissue."
Casey's father, Sean McIntyre, expressed optimism about the new technology: "Whatever the team did for him was really a miracle but the idea that there could be one operation early in your child's life, that could transplant a working piece of oesophagus, and then we could move on would be life-changing."
For the first time, scientists have successfully mapped the genes in the implanted tissue. If adapted for human use, different sized scaffolds could be stored and personalised for newborns or children with long-gap oesophageal atresia. Biopsies could be taken from young patients when feeding tubes are fitted, facilitating the customisation process.
Professor De Coppi drew parallels with established medical practices: "Pig heart valves have been used to extend and save the lives of patients for more than 50 years. I believe we are now standing at a similar new frontier." He added confidently: "With the success of this research, we hope that we can be successfully offering an engineered tissue alternative to children who desperately need it, within five years."
