EUROSTEC - Soft tissue engineering for congenital birth defects in children: new treatment modalities for spina bifida, urogenital and abdominal wall defects
Research fields:
Period: 01/01/2007 - 31/12/2011 Research description:
The aim of this project is to use modern tissue engineering approaches
to treat children with structural disorders present at birth, such as
spina bifida, urogenital defects, gastroschisis, diaphragmatic hernia
and esophageal atresia. The project strives to take a translational
route through in vitro and animal experiments to early clinical trials.
Tailor-made 'smart' biomatrices (scaffolds) will be prepared using
natural scaffold molecules (collagen, elastin) and/or men-made polymers
(poly lactic/glycolic acid), and will be substituted with regulatory
molecules such as growth factors and glycosaminoglycans. A variety of
cells, including stem cells, fibroblasts, muscle cells and
urothelial/epithelial cells will be cultured in vitro and seeded into
biomatrices. Biomatrices thus prepared, will be implanted using novel
animal models for major congenital birth defects, and evaluated for
their capacity to regenerate the correct tissues. Biomatrices will
degrade in time and be replaced by the bodies own tissues thus assuring
compliance with growth which is especially important in young children.
Prenatal and postnatal reconstructive procedures will improve the final
outcome of reconstructive surgery. Clinical trials for diaphragmatic
hernias will form the start of the patient registry and protocol
development for future clinical studies. Ethical and regulatory issues
will be fully addressed before final clinical application, and parents
and children will have to be able to understand these new treatment
options. A dialogue with society, including patient¿s associations,
will be sought. Demonstration activities will be undertaken to increase
the awareness of new treatment modalities based on tissue-engineering.
Finally, surgeons will be trained to use the new operation techniques.
The project combines European leaders in the field of biomatrices, cell
culture, animal models, surgery, and ethical and regulatory issues.
| Keywords: |
tissue engineering, tailor-made 'smart' biomatrices, new operation technique |
| Project type: |
Bridge project |
| Total cost: |
8.833 |
| Approved funding: |
7.828 |
|