Replication and Further Optimization of Decellularization Methods of Porcine Skeletal Muscle
Poster Number
28
College
College of Arts and Sciences
Keywords
decellularize, recellularize, scaffold, tissue engineering, skeletal muscle, extracellular matrix, cells, microscopy, biomaterial, regenerative medicine
Department
Biology
Faculty Mentor
Dr. Matthew Stern
Abstract
Decellularization is the process in which the cells within a tissue are removed. This leaves behind the tissue’s extracellular matrix (EMC), which can be used as a scaffold/substrate for the growth of reseeded cells. This is a commonly employed strategy within the field of tissue engineering where the goal is to produce a tissue replacement using a patient’s own cells. Previous work in our lab has examined the potential of ten different protocols to decellularize porcine (pig) skeletal muscles into scaffolds that are of clinically relevant sizes for human tissue engineering. From the ten decellularization protocols that were tested, six were selected for further investigation. Our overarching hypothesis is that by replicating the six protocols in greater numbers, we can further optimize and standardize the production of porcine acellular muscle matrix (PAMM) scaffolds that support the growth of myogenic cells. In the work presented here, we evaluated the scaffolds by 1) their ability to be handled easily, 2) scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and 3) histological analyses. We were able to eliminate two of the protocols due to the resulting scaffolds being too fragile for handling. The remaining four protocols produced scaffolds with varying degrees of decellularization and retention of ECM elements with some protocols yielding more consistent results than others. Ongoing work is now focused on standardizing the size of scaffolds and the use of additional metrics to quantify decellularization, the retention of ECM elements, and the ability of scaffolds to be effectively recellularized.
Start Date
22-4-2016 2:15 PM
End Date
22-4-2016 4:15 PM
Replication and Further Optimization of Decellularization Methods of Porcine Skeletal Muscle
Richardson Ballroom
Decellularization is the process in which the cells within a tissue are removed. This leaves behind the tissue’s extracellular matrix (EMC), which can be used as a scaffold/substrate for the growth of reseeded cells. This is a commonly employed strategy within the field of tissue engineering where the goal is to produce a tissue replacement using a patient’s own cells. Previous work in our lab has examined the potential of ten different protocols to decellularize porcine (pig) skeletal muscles into scaffolds that are of clinically relevant sizes for human tissue engineering. From the ten decellularization protocols that were tested, six were selected for further investigation. Our overarching hypothesis is that by replicating the six protocols in greater numbers, we can further optimize and standardize the production of porcine acellular muscle matrix (PAMM) scaffolds that support the growth of myogenic cells. In the work presented here, we evaluated the scaffolds by 1) their ability to be handled easily, 2) scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and 3) histological analyses. We were able to eliminate two of the protocols due to the resulting scaffolds being too fragile for handling. The remaining four protocols produced scaffolds with varying degrees of decellularization and retention of ECM elements with some protocols yielding more consistent results than others. Ongoing work is now focused on standardizing the size of scaffolds and the use of additional metrics to quantify decellularization, the retention of ECM elements, and the ability of scaffolds to be effectively recellularized.
