Scaffolds for esophageal tissue engineering

Abstract Presently, the standard of care for esophageal diseases employs surgical techniques that utilize either primary anastomotic repairs or the use of stomach and intestinal conduits for replacement therapy during esophageal reconstruction. Even in the most skilled hands, these procedures are plagued with high complication and mortality rates. Novel approaches to treat esophageal defects in the form of tissue engineering provide an alternative approach that may be functionally and immunologically safer for the patient. The use of both biologic and synthetic materials has been employed in creating scaffolds for reconstructing the diseased esophagus. The cells utilized for seeding these scaffolds range from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), amniotic fluid mesenchymal stem cells (AF-MSCs), to bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs). Seeded scaffolds have shown the most promising results in tissue regeneration with fewer complications when compared with a nonseeded scaffold. The mechanism by which regeneration occurs remains to be elucidated, but continued research with large animal models have begun paving the way for establishing a functionally viable esophagus.