The Future of Cell Transplant Therapies: A Need for Tissue Grafting

Current methodologies of solid organ-derived cell transplant therapies introduce donor cells into hosts through a vascular route, a strategy modeled after hematopoietic therapies. These strategies fail because of inefficient engraftment, poor survival of the cells, and propensity for formation of life-threatening emboli. Transplant success necessitates grafting methods, requiring a mixture of appropriate cell sources embedded into or onto precise mixes of extracellular matrix components and then localized to the diseased or dysfunctional tissue, promoting necessary proliferation, engraftment, and vascularization. Grafting technologies are rapidly translatable to therapeutic uses in patients and provide alternative treatments for regenerative medicine.