Engineering a Motile, Controllable Intestine with Integrated Electronics to Study Host-Microbiome Interactions
Abstract
Functional gastrointestinal disorders, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and short bowel syndrome, may lead to chronic intestinal failure (IF), a complex medical condition that severely impacts the individuals quality of life and is associated with high costs. Patients require long-term home parenteral nutrition (HPN), and frequent admissions for the underlying disease, contributing to high medical expenses, estimated at $150K per year per person. Moreover, liver and metabolic diseases are severe complications associated with HPN. The total annual financial burden of IBD alone in the United States was estimated at $31.6 billion in 2014. Currently, there is no permanent pharmaceutical cure for IF and some of the underlying conditions. Intestinal transplantation appears to be the most cost-effective treatment strategy. However, immune response issues and scarcity of donors hinder this approach. Tissue engineering evolved as a strategy to build replacement tissues for damaged organs. Current approaches to engineer intestinal tissues focus on recapitulating the absorptive function of the intestinal epithelial tissue. This is generally achieved by placing intestinal stem cells on absorptive scaffolds resembling native intestine. However, although such engineered tissues are capable of absorption, they lack peristaltic function, which is naturally obtained by the muscular layers and is critical for proper function. This project aims to develop a novel approach to engineer a smart, implantable intestine. The engineered intestine will integrate absorptive epithelial tissue together with a muscular bilayer and complex electronics.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 09, 2024
- Accession Number
- AD1228858
Entities
People
- Tal Dvir
Organizations
- Tel Aviv University