WSCS 2021 | Building the bioengineered uterus

Anthony Atala, MD, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, discusses ongoing research toward the development of bioengineered uteri in order to replace lost or damaged uteri caused by disease, injury or birth defects. He describes tissue engineering approaches being investigated that involve seeding autologous cells onto a three-dimensional scaffold and expanding the cells in an incubator-like device and reimplanting the engineered uterine tissue. This autologous approach aims to reduce immune rejection upon implantation. Prof. Atala describes a recent study in which autologous cell-seeded engineered uteri were implanted into a rabbit model and were able to successfully support normal pregnancies, fetal development and delivery of an infant. This interview took place at the 2021 World Stem Cell Summit (WSCS).