Development of decellularized scaffolds for stem cell-driven tissue engineering

Abstract

Organ transplantation is an effective treatment for chronic organ dysfunctioning conditions. However, a dearth of available donor organs for transplantation leads to the death of numerous patients waiting for a suitable organ donor. The potential of decellularized scaffolds, derived from native tissues or organs in the form of scaffolds has been evolved as a promising approach in tissue-regenerative medicine for translating functional organ replacements. In recent years, donor organs, such as heart, liver, lung and kidneys, have been reported to provide acellular extracellular matrix (ECM)-based scaffolds through the process called 'decellularization' and proved to show the potential of recellularization with selected cell populations, particularly with stem cells. In fact, decellularized stem cell matrix (DSCM) has also emerged as a potent biological scaffold for controlling stem cell fate and function during tissue organization. Despite the proven potential of decellularized scaffolds in tissue engineering, the molecular mechanism responsible for stem cell interactions with decellularized scaffolds is still unclear. Stem cells interact with, and respond to, various signals/cues emanating from their ECM. The ability to harness the regenerative potential of stem cells via decellularized ECM-based scaffolds has promising implications for tissue-regenerative medicine. Keeping these points in view, this article reviews the current status of decellularized scaffolds for stem cells, with particular focus on: (a) concept and various methods of decellularization; (b) interaction of stem cells with decellularized scaffolds; (c) current recellularization strategies, with associated challenges; and (iv) applications of the decellularized scaffolds in stem cell-driven tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Decellularized Tissue for Muscle Regeneration

“…Acellular tissues are mainly generated by using physical, enzymatic, and/or chemical mechanisms [9,37,38,39]. Based on its simplicity, the most commonly used method to obtain acellular tissue is immersion and agitation of the sample, in presence of decellularizing agents.…”

“…In the literature such scaffolds are defined as decellularized; however, some of them would be better defined as “anucleated” rather than “acellular” scaffolds. Indeed, together with the elimination of the nuclear content and the maintenance of the ECM, such treatments can partially preserve cytoplasmic components of the original tissue, in particular those belonging to myofibers [24,32,33,39,45,46]. …”

Bioengineering the Pancreas: Cell-on-Scaffold Technology

“…Thus stem cells can be considered a potent and encouraging cell source for tissue engineering [124]. Accordingly to this concept, Wan et al has just proposed a study about the possibility to culturing iPSCs derived pancreatic β cells on decellularized ECM [125].…”

Lung bioengineering: physical stimuli and stem/progenitor cell biology interplay towards biofabricating a functional organ

“…In addition to its structural complexity, the lung compartments contain up to 60 different types of cells [10]. Despite these difficulties, it has been shown that by using adequate protocols the lung can be decellularized to obtain an almost intact extracellular scaffold [11–20]. …”