Bioengineered trachea using autologous chondrocytes for regeneration of tracheal cartilage in a rabbit model.

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS In this study, a bioengineered trachea composed of autologous chondrocytes was developed, and its effect on cartilaginous regeneration was evaluated by implantation into tracheal defects in rabbits. STUDY DESIGN Prospective controlled trial in an animal model. METHODS The tracheal prosthesis used in this study was composed of polypropylene (the frame) and collagen sponge (the scaffold). Chondrocytes were harvested from the costal cartilage of rabbits and seeded into the tracheal prosthesis. The bioengineered trachea, consisting of the tracheal prosthesis with chondrocytes, was implanted into surgically created tracheal defects of rabbits in the bioengineered group, and a tracheal prosthesis without chondrocytes was implanted in the control group. RESULTS After implantation, the presence of regenerated cartilage was observed in the bioengineered trachea but not in the tracheal prosthesis without chondrocytes. CONCLUSIONS It was confirmed in this study that the implanted chondrocytes proliferated in an appropriate portion of the tracheal defect and that the partially resected tracheal cartilage was repaired with regenerated cartilaginous tissue into a ring-shaped form as a whole. These results demonstrate the feasibility of cartilaginous regeneration using a bioengineered trachea with autologous chondrocytes.