Mesothelial Cell Sheets Cultured on Fibrin Gel Prevent Adhesion Formation in an Intestinal Hernia Model

Abstract

In the present study, we examined a novel technique to prevent adhesion formation in a rat intestinal hernia model with mesothelial cell sheets cultured on fibrin gel. Mesothelial cells were obtained from isologous rats by enzymatic disaggregation of mesentery and cultured on fibrin gel. Electron microscopy revealed that these cultured cells form contiguous monolayer cell sheets with well-developed microvilli. These tissue-engineered constructs were grafted in vivo to an intestinal hernia model that results in regular surgical adhesions without treatment. Five days postgrafting, rats were sacrificed. Adhesion formation was not observed in rats grafted with the constructs, whereas severe adhesions were observed in all control rats. Constructs seeded with mesothelial cells isolated from EGFP-transgenic rats clearly revealed that grafted mesothelial cells remained at the host tissue site even after fibrin scaffold degradation. These cells developed more abundant microvilli in vivo than those in vitro. These results show that cultured mesothelial cell sheets are effective in preventing adhesion formation and should reduce postoperative complications caused by adhesion formation.

Transplantation of an Autologous Mesothelial Cell Sheet Prepared from Tunica Vaginalis Prevents Post-Operative Adhesions in a Canine Model

“…11 Recently, we proposed a new technique for harvesting autologous mesothelial cells from tunica vaginalis without intra-abdominal maneuvers. 16 In the current study, we confirmed the efficacy of autologous mesothelial cell sheet transplantation for preventing post-operative adhesions in a canine adhesion model.…”

“…10 Recently, we reported that transplantation of mesothelial cells cultured on fibrin gel is also effective for preventing adhesions in a rat model. 11 Fibrin gel has been reported to be a reliable and stable material for transplantation and is available clinically. 12,13 We named this tissue-engineered construct composed of mesothelial cells and fibrin gel the ''mesothelial cell sheet.'…”

“…So far, mesothelial cells have been isolated from ascites, 14 omentum, 15 and mesentery. 11 However, sufficient amounts of ascites acquired by aspiration methods are not available under normal conditions, and procedures for obtaining mesothelial cells from the omentum or mesentery are invasive, particularly in pre-operative situations. Additionally, in cases of abdominal malignancy such as stomach cancer, there exists a risk of dissemination of cancerous cells.…”

The Peritoneum: Health, Disease, and Perspectives regarding Tissue Engineering and Cell Therapies

“…The advent of biological scaffolds associated with MCs and subMCs improve the reconstitution capacity and functioning of the peritoneum and other organs [Takazawa et al, 2005;Sekiguchi et al, 2012;Lachaud et al, 2013;Kitamura et al, 2014;Lachaud et al, 2015]. Considering the anatomic organization, the peritoneal cavity is analogue to a natural bioreactor for tissue engineering of bladder, uterus, and vas deferens [Campbell et al, 2008].…”

Generation of mesothelial progenitor‐like cells from mouse‐induced pluripotent stem cells

“…Recently MC transplantation has been reported to be effective for preventing postoperative adhesions in animal models [5][6][7]. Recently MC transplantation has been reported to be effective for preventing postoperative adhesions in animal models [5][6][7].…”