Background: As an excellent xenotransplant, the pig trachea can be decellularized and cryopreserved to reduce its immunogenicity. However, few reports are found on the changes of its mechanical properties after cryopreservation and decellularization.
Objective: To evaluate the structure and biomechanical properties in pig tracheal scaffolds resulting from decellularized and cryopreserved.
Material and methods: Twenty-five pig tracheal segments were separated into five groups: untreated (group A), only decellularized (group B), only cryopreserved (group C), decellularized after cryopreserved (group D) and cryopreserved after decellularized (group E). Tracheal segments were subjected to uniaxial tension or compression using a universal testing machine to determine structural biomechanical changes.
Results: It showed that there was no statistically significant difference in the tensile strength of the trachea in each group. The compressive strength of group B, C and D were same as the group A (P > 0.05), while the group E was lower than that of the group A (P < 0.05).Conclusions and significance: The histological examination of the decellularization after cryopreservation shows that the removal of epithelial cells and submucosal cells is more thorough, and the biomechanical structure of the trachea is better preserved. This proved to be a new method to prepare xenotransplantation of trachea graft.
Keywords: Trachea; biomechanics; cryopreservation; decellularization; graft.