Generation of human-sized bioengineered bile ducts

生物研究的进展有可能使科学家能够通过将人类细胞与生物或化学衍生的支架相结合来构建人造或生物工程器官。总部位于剑桥的中小型企业Bilitech开发了一项在实验室制造生物工程胆管的技术，目标是将其移植到临床上用于患者。胆管形成一个管网，将有毒胆汁从肝脏转移到肠道。损伤或疾病对胆管的损伤会导致胆汁在肝脏中溢出，导致严重的肝脏损伤和衰竭。目前，由于缺乏可用于修复或替代受损胆管的健康胆管，治疗胆管疾病的唯一方法是肝移植或用小肠从肝脏引流胆汁的复杂手术。然而，由于缺乏可用的器官，肝移植受到限制，而这两种手术都伴随着严重的并发症、多次住院和NHS成本的增加。为了解决这一挑战，Bilitech开发了一种在实验室生成人工胆管的技术。这项技术已经成功地制造出微型胆管，并成功地用来取代小鼠的胆管。Bilitech的总体目标是将该产品从目前的微型形式推进到对人类可行的临床疗法。该公司处于独特的地位，可以通过与剑桥大学和NHS的联系来实现这一影响，这些联系允许获得专业知识、资源、患者和基础设施。此外，Bilitech还将与细胞和基因治疗弹射器的专家合作，确定人体大小的生物工程胆管的最佳制造工艺，并进行健康经济分析，确定将技术推向市场的最佳战略。该项目的目的是测试该技术生产人体大小的生物工程胆管的可行性，并评估开发这种疗法的市场潜力和成本。生物工程胆管的产生将提供肝移植治疗胆管疾病的第一种替代疗法，降低国民健康保险制度的压力和成本，并显著改善患者的健康和生活质量。“

"Advances in biological research has the potential to enable scientists to build artificial or bioengineered organs by combining human cells with biologically- or chemically-derived scaffolds. Bilitech, a SME based in Cambridge, has developed a technology to manufacture bioengineered bile ducts in the laboratory and aims to translate it to the clinic for use in patients.Bile ducts form a network of tubes that transfer toxic bile from the liver to the gut. Damage to bile ducts through injury or disease leads to overflow of bile in the liver causing, severe liver damage and failure. Currently, due to the lack of healthy bile ducts that could be used to repair or replace the damaged ducts, the only treatment for the management of bile duct disorders is liver transplantation or a complex operation in which the small intestine is used to drain the bile from the liver. However, liver transplantation is limited by the lack of available organs, while both operations are associated with significant complications, multiple hospital admissions and increased cost for the NHS.To address this challenge Bilitech has developed a technology for the generation of artificial bile ducts in the laboratory. This technology has been successful in generating miniature bile ducts which were used to successfully replace the bile duct of mice. Bilitech's overall aim is to advance this product from its current miniature form to a viable clinical therapy for humans. The company is uniquely placed to deliver this impact through its links with the University of Cambridge and the NHS which, allow access to expertise, resources, patients and infrastructure. Bilitech will additionally collaborate with experts from the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult to identify the best manufacturing process for human-sized bioengineered bile ducts, and to perform health-economic analysis identify the best strategy for bringing the technology to the market.The aim of this project is to test the feasibility of the technology to generate human sized bioengineered bile ducts and asses the market potential and cost of developing this therapy. The generation of bioengineered bile ducts will provide the first alternative therapy to liver transplantation for the management of bile duct disorders, reducing pressure and cost for the NHS and significantly improve patients' health and quality of life."