Humes H D
Department of Internal Medicine, VA Medical Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Transplant Proc. 1996 Aug;28(4):2032-5.
Cell therapy and tissue engineering may well likely dominate medical therapeutics in the next century. Growing a functional glomerular filter and tubule reabsorber from a combination of cells, biomaterials, and synthetic polymers to replace renal excretory and regulatory functions is a specific example of these evolving technologies. The kidney was the first organ whose function was substituted by an artificial device. The kidney was also the first organ to be successfully transplanted. The ability to replace renal function with these revolutionary technologies in the past was due to the fact that renal excretory function is based on natural physical forces which govern solute and fluid movement from the body compartment to the external environment. The need for coordinated mechanical or electrical activities got renal substitution was not required. Accordingly, the kidney may well be the first organ to be available as a tissue-engineered implantable device as a fully functional replacement part for the human body. The prospects of a "universal donor" bioartificial kidney for the treatment of end-stage renal disease are clearly achievable as we approach the next millennium.
细胞治疗和组织工程很有可能在下个世纪主导医学治疗领域。通过细胞、生物材料和合成聚合物的组合培育出功能性肾小球滤过器和肾小管重吸收器，以替代肾脏的排泄和调节功能，就是这些不断发展的技术的一个具体例子。肾脏是首个其功能被人工装置替代的器官。肾脏也是首个成功进行移植的器官。过去能够用这些革命性技术替代肾功能，是因为肾脏的排泄功能基于控制溶质和液体从身体腔室向外部环境移动的自然物理力。进行肾脏替代不需要协调的机械或电活动。因此，肾脏很可能会成为首个作为组织工程可植入装置、作为人体完全功能性替代部件可用的器官。随着我们迈向新千年，用于治疗终末期肾病的“通用供体”生物人工肾的前景显然是可以实现的。
