Systematic in vitro comparison of decellularization protocols for blood vessels

PLoS One. 2018 Dec 17;13(12):e0209269. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0209269. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

Decellularization of native blood vessels is a promising technology to generate 3D biological scaffolds for vascular grafting. Blood vessel decellularization has been performed in previous studies under various experimental conditions, that complicates comparison and optimization of suitable protocols. The goal of this work was to systematically compare the decellularization and recellularization efficacy of 5 different protocols utilizing the detergents sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), sodium deoxycholate (SDC), CHAPS and TritonX-100 together with DNA-removing enzymes on porcine vena cava in a perfusion bioreactor setup. Additionally, we tested the effect of DNase on the extracellular matrix (ECM) properties. We found that all protocols could efficiently decellularize blood vessels. Mechanical strength, collagen preservation and ECM integrity were similar among all tested detergents, yet TritonX protocols required long-term DNase application for complete decellularization. However, TritonX-based protocols showed the greatest recellularization efficacy with HUVECs in vitro. Furthermore, we developed a novel protocol for TritonX which improved recellularization and reduced total process time and ECM stiffness compared to previous protocols. SDS, SDC and CHAPS based protocols had a lower recellularization potential. In conclusion, decellularization of blood vessels can be achieved with all tested reagents, but TritonX treated ECM can be most efficiently recellularized with endothelial cells.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Biomechanical Phenomena
  • Bioreactors
  • Blood Vessels / cytology*
  • Blood Vessels / drug effects
  • Blood Vessels / physiology
  • Cell Survival / drug effects
  • Collagen / drug effects
  • Collagen / metabolism
  • Detergents / pharmacology
  • Endothelial Cells / cytology
  • Endothelial Cells / drug effects
  • Endothelial Cells / physiology
  • Extracellular Matrix / drug effects
  • Extracellular Matrix / metabolism
  • Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells
  • Humans
  • Sus scrofa
  • Tissue Engineering / methods*

Substances

  • Detergents
  • Collagen

Grants and funding

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 722779 and was conducted within the “Training 4 Cell Regenerative Medicine” (T4CRM) network. The funder (European Union) provided support in the form of salaries for authors [RS]. The funders did not have any additional role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The specific roles of these authors are articulated in the ‘author contributions’ section.