State of the art on autologous mesothelial transplant in animals and humans.

Sixteen years ago rabbit and human mesothelial cells were successfully cultured and autoimplanted. The aim of the study was merely to demonstrate that mesothelial implant was possible and interesting not only in peritoneal dialysis, but also in the vaster field of medicine and surgery concerning all the mesothelial districts of the body. The aim of this paper is to recollect the steps which have led to autologous mesothelial transplantation and verify if the technique has been validated and adopted by others. Review of the literature published in the last 15 years shows that intraperitoneal transplantation of mesothelial cells has been effective in reducing the formation of peritoneal adhesions, and in remodeling the area of mesothelial denudation. New studies on the mesothelial cell opened the way to construction of transplantable tissue-engineered artificial peritoneum, to the utilization of mesothelial progenitor cells and to find simple methods to collect autologous mesothelial cells. Finally mesothelial transplantation may represent a new neovascular therapy in the prevention and treatment of ischemic coronary heart disease.