: The trachea is a respiratory organ, which connects the larynx to the main flageolet and the lungs, made up of cartilaginous rings and a mucosal layer-lined tube characterized by smooth muscle and connective tissue. Tissue engineering is one of the most promising and potent therapeutic approaches for curing long-segment tracheal stenosis. This study reviewed articles indexed in scientific databases including ISI, SID, PubMed, and PubMed Central between 1993 and 2022. Although three-dimensional scaffolds are a new therapeutic approach, they have opened up new avenues for renovating pathologically problematic tissues. This review article discusses the anatomy of the trachea and therapeutic approaches such as tissue engineering to construct tracheal cartilage to replace the damaged trachea. Next, we concisely review the recent advances in stem cell biology in scaffolds and their interplay with growth factors to optimize an engineered tracheal epithelium.

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Background: Human umbilical cord Wharton’s jelly has provided a new source for mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). The highly proliferative capacity with low immunogenicity and multi-differentiation potential of its stem cells make them applicable for transplantation purposes. Nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain (NOD)-like receptors (NLRs) play various roles in antigen presentation of pathogens and damaged cells to suppress and/or modulate inflammation. Objectives: In this study, the expression levels of NLR family CARD domain containing 3 (NLRC3) and NLRC5 genes were analyzed and compared in both untreated and interferon gamma (IFN-γ)–treated Wharton’s jelly-derived MSCs (WJ-MSCs). Methods: MSCs were isolated from human umbilical cord Wharton’s jelly using standard tissue culture. The expression of NLRC5 and NLRC3 genes was analyzed in IFN-γ–treated WJ-MSCs (24 hours after treatment) and untreated WJ-MSCs (as a control) using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results: It was found that IFN-γ treatment mimicking an inflammation scenario led to a statistically significant increase of NLRC3 and NLRC5 gene expression compared to untreated WJ-MSCs (P ≤ 0.05). Conclusions: It seems that higher expression of NLRC3 and NLRC5 genes in treated WJ-MSCs may make them a proper candidate to be used as a source for cell therapy in inflammatory conditions.