Tendon bioreactors combine cells, scaffold, and mechanical stimulation to drive tissue neogenesis ex vivo. Faithful recapitulation of the native tendon microenvironment is essential for stimulating graft maturation or modeling tendon biology. As the mediator between cells and mechanical stimulation, the properties of a scaffold constitute perhaps the most essential elements in a bioreactor system. One method of achieving native scaffold properties is to process tendon allograft in a manner that removes cells without modifying structure and function: "decellularization." This chapter describes (1) production of tendon scaffolds derived from native extracellular matrix, (2) preparation of cell-laden scaffolds prior to bioreactor culture, and (3) tissue processing post-harvest for gene expression analysis. These methods may be applied for a variety of applications including graft production, cell priming prior to transplantation and basic investigations of tendon cell biology.
Keywords: Bioreactor; Decellularization; Extracellular matrix; Mechanobiology; Mesenchymal stem cells; Regenerative medicine; Scaffold; Tendon; Tissue engineering.