Tissue Engineering and Regeneration in Christianity

TISSUE ENGINEERING

TISSUE ENGINEERING 1

Tissue Engineering and Regeneration of the Holy Spirit in Christianity

Regenerative medicine is a clinical field focused on the replacement, repair, and renewal of organs, tissue or cells to restore damaged function (Damiano et al., 2021). Tissue or cell damage could occur due to multiple issues, including trauma, disease, and congenital defects (Damiano et al., 2021). The terms regenerative medicine and tissue engineering are often used interchangeably. However, tissue engineering is a branch of regenerative medicine that focuses on replacing the function of injured and damaged tissue (Kaoud, 2018).

In the video provided, Dr. Anthony Atala explains the process of engineering tissue obtained from heart valves and blood vessels, as well as liver, muscle, skin, ear, and digit tissues. Basically the tissue regeneration process involves creating a scaffold and introducing cells with the right environment of growth factors to allow the tissue to self-assemble and grow. Scaffolds can be obtained from different sources and mostly from donor organs or cells from the same individual. The collagen scaffold are stripped and maintained in proper growth conditions to create a new tissue.

One form of tissue engineering not discussed in the video but interesting nonetheless is that of the tracheal tissue (Kaoud, 2018). At present, no trial has been successfully conducted in the engineering of tracheal tissue in humans, although multiple studies on rodents exist (Kaoud, 2018). Sources attribute the difficulty in creating a neo-trachea to the trachea’s anatomical structure, including the physiological, posterior-anterior difference in motion and rigidity, which makes it difficult to obtain donor tissue (Kaoud, 2018).

In rodents and sheep, tracheal tissue engineering has involved harvesting donor cells from various organs to test their effectiveness. Kojima and Vacanti (2013), for instance, obtained donor cells from a two-month old sheep’s nasal septum. They stored the cells in culture on a polyglycolic acid (PGA) mesh for two weeks to create a cartilage with a helix shape resembling a trachea that was then inserted under the corresponding sheep’s sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscle (Kojima & Vacanti, 2013). The PGA mesh was removed eight weeks later, and engineered epithelial cells were obtained from the SCM (Kojima & Vacanti, 2013). The researchers then excised a circumferential segment of the trachea and transplanted the epithelial cells cultured on a silicone stent (Kojima & Vacanti, 2013). After four weeks, the researchers observed that the sheep had tolerated the surgical procedure and a white shiny tissue with complete epithelialization had developed along the entire length of the trachea (Kojima & Vacanti, 2013).

Comparison of Tracheal Tissue Engineering with Rebirth in 2 Corinthians 5:17

The tracheal tissue regeneration therapy outlined above compares with the regeneration of the Holy Spirit in 2 Corinthians 5: 17. In 2 Corinthians 5:17, Paul acknowledges the newness that an individual takes on when they accept Christ. The old passes away and one becomes a new creature in Christ Jesus.

Just as the damaged or excised tissue was regenerated or reborn to develop a relatively new trachea with complete epithelialization; human beings are reborn in their spiritual birth to become a completely new person when they accept Christ. Being a new creature does not necessarily imply that a physical change is made or that one is reduced and then created again (Level, 2011). In fact, there may be no way to physically differentiate the original segment of the sheep’s trachea from the engineered section. Similarly, supposing one was to go back to their mother’s womb and born again as Nicodemus imagined, it would not contribute anything towards rendering them a new creature as they would still be born of the flesh (Level, 2011). Thus, being a new creature through regeneration or rebirth may not imply any physical change, but rather that the tempers of one’s minds and ways entirely change and they become purified and cleansed (Level, 2011). Christ is created in their heart and they become a new creature, entitled to partake of God’s divine mercy.

Regeneration was necessary for the sheep to survive. Similarly, regeneration is necessary for human beings – the sinful nature of man cannot allow them to stand before God’s presence. In John 3:3, Jesus twice tells Nicodemus that a man has to be born again to inherit God’s kingdom. This implies that regeneration is not optional, but a condition for one to get to heaven. Christians have to undergo spiritual rebirth, which is outwardly represented by the act of accepting and proclaiming Christ and partaking of the sacrament of baptism, which serves as a sign that sin is washed away and one takes on a new life in Christ.