ISCT 2021 | Driving the translation of intestinal tissue engineering

Paolo De Coppi, MD, PhD, FMedSci, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health & NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, London, UK, describes ongoing research aiming to address challenges facing the development of tissue engineering strategies for the treatment of intestinal failure and their translation into patients. While it has been demonstrated that organoid technology can used to replace the intestinal mucosa, the development of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)-compliant methods for organoid expansion are required before human transplantation. Given the organ complexity of the intestine, instead of engineering the entire intestine, ongoing research is focused on engineering a functional small intestine mucosa which could be transplanted into the large intestine. This interview took place during the International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy (ISCT) Annual Meeting 2021.