A woman who suffered airway damage from tuberculosis is breathing easy after receiving a new windpipe created with stem cell technology, researchers reported in November (Lancet 372, 2023–2030; 2008).
Paolo Macchiarini of the University of Barcelona and his collaborators stripped the living cells from a donor's trachea and seeded the tissue scaffolding with stem cells taken from the recipient's bone marrow. The engineered trachea (pictured) was therefore compatible with the recipient's immune system, lowering the chances of tissue rejection once transplanted.
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A pipe dream becomes reality. Nat Med 15, 4 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm0109-4b
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nm0109-4b
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