Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41862601›Full record

ArticleNature biotechnology2026

Functional integration of an autologous engineered esophagus in a large-animal model.

Natalie Durkin, George T Hall, Roberto Lutman, Marianna Scuglia, Theodoros Xenakis, Giulia Patera, Daniele Di Biagio, Koji Yamada, Lucinda Tullie, Dominic Scaglioni and 26 more

Abstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Nature biotechnology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Engineered oesophagus transplantation in a pig model.Nature reviews. Gastroenterology & hepatology · 2026
    Article
  3. Review
  4. Esophagus engineering tackles function.Nature biotechnology · 2026
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

36 authors.

Natalie DurkinStem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Section, Developmental Biology and Cancer Research and Teaching Department, Zayed Centre for Research into Rare Disease in Children, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK.
George T HallGenetics and Genomic Medicine Research and Teaching Department, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4828-0668
Roberto LutmanStem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Section, Developmental Biology and Cancer Research and Teaching Department, Zayed Centre for Research into Rare Disease in Children, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK.
Marianna ScugliaStem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Section, Developmental Biology and Cancer Research and Teaching Department, Zayed Centre for Research into Rare Disease in Children, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK.
Theodoros XenakisGenetics and Genomic Medicine Research and Teaching Department, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3682-8873
Giulia PateraStem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Section, Developmental Biology and Cancer Research and Teaching Department, Zayed Centre for Research into Rare Disease in Children, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK.
Daniele Di BiagioStem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Section, Developmental Biology and Cancer Research and Teaching Department, Zayed Centre for Research into Rare Disease in Children, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK.
Koji YamadaStem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Section, Developmental Biology and Cancer Research and Teaching Department, Zayed Centre for Research into Rare Disease in Children, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0003-9701-3018
Lucinda TullieStem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Section, Developmental Biology and Cancer Research and Teaching Department, Zayed Centre for Research into Rare Disease in Children, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK.
Dominic ScaglioniStem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Section, Developmental Biology and Cancer Research and Teaching Department, Zayed Centre for Research into Rare Disease in Children, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0441-2198
Soichi ShibuyaStem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Section, Developmental Biology and Cancer Research and Teaching Department, Zayed Centre for Research into Rare Disease in Children, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4274-1312
Kornilia NikakiDepartment of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8968-8926
Max Arran BeesleyStem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Section, Developmental Biology and Cancer Research and Teaching Department, Zayed Centre for Research into Rare Disease in Children, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK.
Tarek SalehStem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Section, Developmental Biology and Cancer Research and Teaching Department, Zayed Centre for Research into Rare Disease in Children, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK.
Matias Garrido FloresEpithelial Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK.
Dominika BorselleStem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Section, Developmental Biology and Cancer Research and Teaching Department, Zayed Centre for Research into Rare Disease in Children, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4880-8047
Valerija KaralukaStem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Section, Developmental Biology and Cancer Research and Teaching Department, Zayed Centre for Research into Rare Disease in Children, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK.
J Ciaran HutchinsonHistopathology Department, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1708-2634
Sahira KhalafStem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Section, Developmental Biology and Cancer Research and Teaching Department, Zayed Centre for Research into Rare Disease in Children, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK.
Olumide OgunbiyiHistopathology Department, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
Lei WuCentre of Biomaterials for Surgical Reconstruction and Regeneration, Department of Surgical Biotechnology, Division of Surgery and Interventional Science, University College London, London, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0268-6304
Xia HuangCentre of Biomaterials for Surgical Reconstruction and Regeneration, Department of Surgical Biotechnology, Division of Surgery and Interventional Science, University College London, London, UK.
Wenhui SongCentre of Biomaterials for Surgical Reconstruction and Regeneration, Department of Surgical Biotechnology, Division of Surgery and Interventional Science, University College London, London, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8406-472X
Stavros LoukogeorgakisStem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Section, Developmental Biology and Cancer Research and Teaching Department, Zayed Centre for Research into Rare Disease in Children, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK.
Alessandro Filippo PellegataDepartment of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering 'Giulio Natta', Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy.
Sara ManteroDepartment of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering 'Giulio Natta', Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1264-0465
Giulio CossuDivision of Cell Matrix Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5863-9593
Vivian S W LiStem Cell and Cancer Biology Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2041-0085
Osvaldo BorrelliStem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Section, Developmental Biology and Cancer Research and Teaching Department, Zayed Centre for Research into Rare Disease in Children, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0241-0508
Paola BonfantiEpithelial Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9655-3766
Sergi CastellanoGenetics and Genomic Medicine Research and Teaching Department, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK.
Mattia Francesco Maria GerliStem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Section, Developmental Biology and Cancer Research and Teaching Department, Zayed Centre for Research into Rare Disease in Children, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9331-7394
Conor J McCannStem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Section, Developmental Biology and Cancer Research and Teaching Department, Zayed Centre for Research into Rare Disease in Children, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9324-5984
Simon EatonStem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Section, Developmental Biology and Cancer Research and Teaching Department, Zayed Centre for Research into Rare Disease in Children, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0892-9204
Marco Pellegrini *Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Section, Developmental Biology and Cancer Research and Teaching Department, Zayed Centre for Research into Rare Disease in Children, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK. marco.pellegrini@ucl.ac.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3724-6640
Paolo De Coppi *Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Section, Developmental Biology and Cancer Research and Teaching Department, Zayed Centre for Research into Rare Disease in Children, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK. p.decoppi@ucl.ac.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1659-0207

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Tissue engineering of the esophagus has been limited by stent dependance and poor muscle regeneration. Here we report an integrated strategy to engineer a 2.5-cm esophageal segment by microinjecting autologous pericyte-like myogenic precursors and fibroblasts in a decellularized porcine scaffold to repair circumferential defects in 10-kg minipigs (n = 8), modeling pediatric use. Bioreactor maturation induced a proangiogenic phenotype, with in vivo support from biodegradable intraluminal stents and a vascularizing pleural wrap. This coordinated approach yielded safe and effective esophageal conduits; oral feeding supported normal growth, morbidity resembled that of clinical esophageal replacement and was endoscopically manageable, and 63% (5/8) survived to the 6-month endpoint. Comprehensive multimodal analyses demonstrated progressive recapitulation of native architecture, with increasing neuromuscular regeneration and vascularization, correlating with functional recovery, absence of symptomatic stricture and the presence of secondary peristalsis by 6 months. These results demonstrate that the combination of complementary regenerative, conditioning and surgical strategies enables a functionally integrated, contractile esophageal graft with ongoing structural maturation without immunosuppression.

Identifiers

PMID41862601

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.