The definitive treatment for end-stage organ failure is orthotopic transplantation. However, the demand for transplantation far exceeds the number of available donor organs. A promising tissue-engineering/regenerative-medicine approach for functional organ replacement has emerged in recent years. Decellularization of donor organs such as heart, liver, and lung can provide an acellular, naturally occurring three-dimensional biologic scaffold material that can then be seeded with selected cell populations. Preliminary studies in animal models have provided encouraging results for the proof of concept. However, significant challenges for three-dimensional organ engineering approach remain. This manuscript describes the fundamental concepts of whole-organ engineering, including characterization of the extracellular matrix as a scaffold, methods for decellularization of vascular organs, potential cells to reseed such a scaffold, techniques for the recellularization process and important aspects regarding bioreactor design to support this approach. Critical challenges and future directions are also discussed.

中文翻译：

---

全器官组织工程：三维基质支架的去细胞化和再细胞化。

终末期器官衰竭的最终治疗方法是原位移植。然而，移植的需求远远超过可用的供体器官的数量。近年来出现了一种用于功能性器官置换的有前景的组织工程/再生医学方法。供体器官（如心脏、肝脏和肺）的去细胞化可以提供一种无细胞的、天然存在的三维生物支架材料，然后可以将其接种到选定的细胞群中。动物模型的初步研究为概念验证提供了令人鼓舞的结果。然而，三维器官工程方法的重大挑战仍然存在。这份手稿描述了全器官工程的基本概念，包括将细胞外基质表征为支架，血管器官去细胞化的方法、重新接种这种支架的潜在细胞、再细胞化过程的技术以及支持这种方法的生物反应器设计的重要方面。还讨论了关键挑战和未来方向。