Figure 2.

ECM scaffold configurations and their use in the GI tract. ECM scaffolds can be processed into tubular grafts to regenerate esophageal submucosa and mucosa. ECM patch grafts have been used in preclinical models to repair defects in the stomach. Perfusion-based decellularization and reseeding with host cells is being explored as a method to engineering whole organs for transplantation. ECM hydrogels have been shown to be adhesive to colonic mucosa when delivered via enema and have been shown to restore epithelial cell barrier function while mitigating the proinflammatory response during experimentally induced ulcerative colitis.