Overview
- In Nature Biotechnology, researchers from Great Ormond Street Hospital and UCL report implanting engineered oesophageal segments that enabled pigs to swallow and eat normally.
- The grafts were built by decellularising donor pig oesophagi, repopulating them with each recipient’s cells, and maturing them in a bioreactor in a process taking about two months.
- All eight recipient animals survived 30 days; five were alive at six months with implants that developed functional muscle, nerves and blood vessels without immunosuppression.
- Spatial transcriptomics mapped gene activity in the implanted tissue and showed patterns consistent with native oesophageal tissue.
- Complications included scar tissue and stricture formation requiring interventions, and independent experts caution that long‑term growth and durability—especially for paediatric use—remain unproven, with next steps focused on longer grafts, improved vascularisation and preparing for human trials.