In Vitro Biocompatibility of Decellularized Cultured Plant Cell-Derived Matrices

Decellularised plant scaffolds facilitate porcine skeletal muscle tissue engineering for cultivated meat biomanufacturing

Cultivated meat (CM) offers a sustainable and ethical alternative to conventional animal agriculture, involving cell maturation in a controlled environment. To emulate the structural complexity of traditional meat, the development of animal-free and edible scaffolds is crucial, providing vital physical and biological support during tissue development. The aligned vascular bundles of the decellularised asparagus scaffold were selected to facilitate the attachment and alignment of murine myoblasts (C2C12) and porcine adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (pADMSCs). Muscle differentiation was assessed through immunofluorescence staining with muscle markers, including Myosin heavy chain (MHC), Myogenin (MYOG), and Desmin. The metabolic activity of Creatine Kinase in C2C12 differentiated cells significantly increased compared to proliferated cells. Quantitative PCR analysis revealed a significant increase in Myosin Heavy Polypeptide 1 (MYH1) and MYOG expression compared to Day 0. These results highlight the application of decellularised plant scaffold (DPS) as a promising, edible material conducive to cell attachment, proliferation, and differentiation into muscle tissue. To create a CM prototype with biological mimicry, pADMSC-derived muscle and fat cells were also co-cultured on the same scaffold. The co-culture was confirmed through immunofluorescence staining of muscle markers and LipidTOX staining, revealing distinct muscle fibres and adipocytes containing lipid droplets respectively. Texture profile analysis conducted on uncooked CM prototypes and pork loin showed no significant differences in textural values. However, the pan-fried CM prototype differed significantly in hardness and chewiness compared to pork loin. Understanding the scaffolds' textural profile enhances our insight into the potential sensory attributes of CM products. DPS shows potential for advancing CM biomanufacturing.

Processing and post-processing of fish skin as a novel material in tissue engineering

As a natural material, fish skin contains significant amounts of collagen I and III, and due to its biocompatible nature, it can be used to regenerate various tissues and organs. To use fish skin, it is necessary to perform the decellularization process to avoid the immunological response of the host body. In the process of decellularization, it is crucial to conserve the extracellular matrix (ECM) three-dimensional (3D) structure. However, it is known that decellularization methods may also damage ECM strands arrangement and structure. Moreover, after decellularization, the post-processing of fish skin improves its mechanical and biological properties and preserves its 3D design and strength. Also, sterilization, which is one of the post-processing steps, is mandatory in pre-clinical and clinical settings. In this review paper, the fish skin decellularization methods performed and the various post-processes used to increase the performance of the skin have been studied. Moreover, multiple applications of acellular fish skin (AFS) and its extracted collagen have been reviewed.

Plant Cellulose as a Substrate for 3D Neural Stem Cell Culture

Neural stem cell (NSC)-based therapies are at the forefront of regenerative medicine strategies for various neural defects and injuries such as stroke, traumatic brain injury, and spinal cord injury. For several clinical applications, NSC therapies require biocompatible scaffolds to support cell survival and to direct differentiation. Here, we investigate decellularized plant tissue as a novel scaffold for three-dimensional (3D), in vitro culture of NSCs. Plant cellulose scaffolds were shown to support the attachment and proliferation of adult rat hippocampal neural stem cells (NSCs). Further, NSCs differentiated on the cellulose scaffold had significant increases in their expression of neuron-specific beta-III tubulin and glial fibrillary acidic protein compared to 2D culture on a polystyrene plate, indicating that the scaffold may enhance the differentiation of NSCs towards astrocytic and neuronal lineages. Our findings suggest that plant-derived cellulose scaffolds have the potential to be used in neural tissue engineering and can be harnessed to direct the differentiation of NSCs.

Organoid-on-a-chip: Current challenges, trends, and future scope toward medicine

In vitro organoid models, typically defined as 3D multicellular aggregates, have been extensively used as a promising tool in drug screening, disease progression research, and precision medicine. Combined with advanced microfluidics technique, organoid-on-a-chip can flexibly replicate in vivo organs within the biomimetic physiological microenvironment by accurately regulating different parameters, such as fluid conditions and concentration gradients of biochemical factors. Since engineered organ reconstruction has opened a new paradigm in biomedicine, innovative approaches are increasingly required in micro-nano fabrication, tissue construction, and development of pharmaceutical products. In this Perspective review, the advantages and characteristics of organoid-on-a-chip are first introduced. Challenges in current organoid culture, extracellular matrix building, and device manufacturing techniques are subsequently demonstrated, followed by potential alternative approaches, respectively. The future directions and emerging application scenarios of organoid-on-a-chip are finally prospected to further satisfy the clinical demands.

Evolution of biomimetic ECM scaffolds from decellularized tissue matrix for tissue engineering: A comprehensive review

Tissue engineering is essentially a technique for imitating nature. Natural tissues are made up of three parts: extracellular matrix (ECM), signaling systems, and cells. Therefore, biomimetic ECM scaffold is one of the best candidates for tissue engineering scaffolds. Among the many scaffold materials of biomimetic ECM structure, decellularized ECM scaffolds (dECMs) obtained from natural ECM after acellular treatment stand out because of their inherent natural components and microenvironment. First, an overview of the family of dECMs is provided. The principle, mechanism, advances, and shortfalls of various decellularization technologies, including physical, chemical, and biochemical methods are then critically discussed. Subsequently, a comprehensive review is provided on recent advances in the versatile applications of dECMs including but not limited to decellularized small intestinal submucosa, dermal matrix, amniotic matrix, tendon, vessel, bladder, heart valves. And detailed examples are also drawn from scientific research and practical work. Furthermore, we outline the underlying development directions of dECMs from the perspective that tissue engineering scaffolds play an important role as an important foothold and fulcrum at the intersection of materials and medicine. As scaffolds that have already found diverse applications, dECMs will continue to present both challenges and exciting opportunities for regenerative medicine and tissue engineering.

In vitro modeling of hepatocellular carcinoma niche on decellularized tomato thorny leaves: a novel natural three-dimensional (3D) scaffold for liver cancer therapeutics

Liver cancer is now one of the main causes leading to death worldwide. To achieve reliable therapeutic effects, it is crucial to develop efficient approaches to test novel anticancer drugs. Considering the significant contribution of tumor microenvironment to cell's response to medications, in vitro 3D bioinspiration of cancer cell niches can be regarded as an advanced strategy to improve the accuracy and reliability of the drug-based treatment. In this regard, decellularized plant tissues can perform as suitable 3D scaffolds for mammalian cell culture to create a near-to-real condition to test drug efficacy. Here, we developed a novel 3D natural scaffold made from decellularized tomato hairy leaves (hereafter called as DTL) to mimic the microenvironment of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) for pharmaceutical purposes. The surface hydrophilicity, mechanical properties, and topography measurement and molecular analyses revealed that the 3D DTL scaffold is an ideal candidate for liver cancer modeling. The cells exhibited a higher growth and proliferation rate within the DTL scaffold, as verified by quantifying the expression of related genes, DAPI staining, and SEM imaging of the cells. Moreover, prilocaine, an anticancer drug, showed a higher effectiveness against the cancer cells cultured on the 3D DTL scaffold, compared to a 2D platform. Taken together, this new cellulosic 3D scaffold can be confidently proposed for chemotherapeutic testing of drugs on hepatocellular carcinoma.

Bioprocessing by Decellularized Scaffold Biomaterials in Cultured Meat: A Review

As novel carrier biomaterials, decellularized scaffolds have promising potential in the development of cellular agriculture and edible cell-cultured meat applications. Decellularized scaffold biomaterials have characteristics of high biocompatibility, bio-degradation, biological safety and various bioactivities, which could potentially compensate for the shortcomings of synthetic bio-scaffold materials. They can provide suitable microstructure and mechanical support for cell adhesion, differentiation and proliferation. To our best knowledge, the preparation and application of plant and animal decellularized scaffolds have not been summarized. Herein, a comprehensive presentation of the principles, preparation methods and application progress of animal-derived and plant-derived decellularized scaffolds has been reported in detail. Additionally, their application in the culture of skeletal muscle, fat and connective tissue, which constitute the main components of edible cultured meat, have also been generally discussed. We also illustrate the potential applications and prospects of decellularized scaffold materials in future foods. This review of cultured meat and decellularized scaffold biomaterials provides new insight and great potential research prospects in food application and cellular agriculture.

Recent Advances in Development of Natural Cellulosic Non-Woven Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering

In recent years, tissue engineering researchers have exploited a variety of biomaterials that can potentially mimic the extracellular matrix (ECM) for tissue regeneration. Natural cellulose, mainly obtained from bacterial (BC) and plant-based (PC) sources, can serve as a high-potential scaffold material for different regenerative purposes. Natural cellulose has drawn the attention of researchers due to its advantages over synthetic cellulose including its availability, cost effectiveness, perfusability, biocompatibility, negligible toxicity, mild immune response, and imitation of native tissues. In this article, we review recent in vivo and in vitro studies which aimed to assess the potential of natural cellulose for the purpose of soft (skin, heart, vein, nerve, etc.) and hard (bone and tooth) tissue engineering. Based on the current research progress report, it is sensible to conclude that this emerging field of study is yet to satisfy the clinical translation criteria, though reaching that level of application does not seem far-fetched.

Decellularized extracellular matrix scaffolds: Recent trends and emerging strategies in tissue engineering

The application of scaffolding materials is believed to hold enormous potential for tissue regeneration. Despite the widespread application and rapid advance of several tissue-engineered scaffolds such as natural and synthetic polymer-based scaffolds, they have limited repair capacity due to the difficulties in overcoming the immunogenicity, simulating in-vivo microenvironment, and performing mechanical or biochemical properties similar to native organs/tissues. Fortunately, the emergence of decellularized extracellular matrix (dECM) scaffolds provides an attractive way to overcome these hurdles, which mimic an optimal non-immune environment with native three-dimensional structures and various bioactive components. The consequent cell-seeded construct based on dECM scaffolds, especially stem cell-recellularized construct, is considered an ideal choice for regenerating functional organs/tissues. Herein, we review recent developments in dECM scaffolds and put forward perspectives accordingly, with particular focus on the concept and fabrication of decellularized scaffolds, as well as the application of decellularized scaffolds and their combinations with stem cells (recellularized scaffolds) in tissue engineering, including skin, bone, nerve, heart, along with lung, liver and kidney.

Natural Biomaterials from Biodiversity for Healthcare Applications

Natural biomaterials originating during the growth cycles of all living organisms have been used for many applications. They span from bioinert to bioactive materials including bioinspired ones. As they exhibit an increasing degree of sophistication, natural biomaterials have proven suitable to address the needs of the healthcare sector. Here the different natural healthcare biomaterials, their biodiversity sources, properties, and promising healthcare applications are reviewed. The variability of their properties as a result of considered species and their habitat is also discussed. Finally, some limitations of natural biomaterials are discussed and possible future developments are provided as more natural biomaterials are yet to be discovered and studied.

The Emerging Role of Decellularized Plant-Based Scaffolds as a New Biomaterial

The decellularization of plant-based biomaterials to generate tissue-engineered substitutes or in vitro cellular models has significantly increased in recent years. These vegetal tissues can be sourced from plant leaves and stems or fruits and vegetables, making them a low-cost, accessible, and sustainable resource from which to generate three-dimensional scaffolds. Each construct is distinct, representing a wide range of architectural and mechanical properties as well as innate vasculature networks. Based on the rapid rise in interest, this review aims to detail the current state of the art and presents the future challenges and perspectives of these unique biomaterials. First, we consider the different existing decellularization techniques, including chemical, detergent-free, enzymatic, and supercritical fluid approaches that are used to generate such scaffolds and examine how these protocols can be selected based on plant cellularity. We next examine strategies for cell seeding onto the plant-derived constructs and the importance of the different functionalization methods used to assist in cell adhesion and promote cell viability. Finally, we discuss how their structural features, such as inherent vasculature, porosity, morphology, and mechanical properties (i.e., stiffness, elasticity, etc.) position plant-based scaffolds as a unique biomaterial and drive their use for specific downstream applications. The main challenges in the field are presented throughout the discussion, and future directions are proposed to help improve the development and use of vegetal constructs in biomedical research.

Current Advances in the Development of Decellularized Plant Extracellular Matrix

An imbalance exists between the supply of organs for transplantation and the number of patients in the donor transplant waiting lists. Current use of autologous, synthetic, and animal-derived grafts for tissue replacement is limited by the low availability, poor biocompatibility, and high cost. Decellularized plant scaffolds with remarkable physical similarities to human organs have recently emerged and have been found to present favorable characteristics that make them suitable as an alternative biomaterial, such as a superficial surface area, excellent water transport and retention, pre-existing vascular networks, interconnected porosity, and a wide range of mechanical properties. In addition to their unique and superior biocompatibility, plant-derived scaffolds present the advantages of low production cost, no ethical or supply constraints, simple operation and suitability for large-scale production and research. However, there are still some problems and deficiencies in this field, such as immature decellularization standards and methods, insufficient research on the biocompatibility of plant extracellular matrix. At present, research on decellularized plant extracellular matrix is still in its infancy, and its applicability to tissue engineering needs to be further improved. In this review, the current research progress on decellularized plant scaffolds is reviewed, the problems to be solved and future research directions are discussed.

Plant-Based Scaffolds in Tissue Engineering

A wide range of platforms has been developed for 3D culture of cells in vitro to aggregate and align cells to resemble in vivo conditions in order to enhance communication between cells and promote differentiation. The cellulose skeleton of plant tissue can serve as an attainable scaffold for mammalian cells after decellularization, which is advantageous when compared to synthetic polymers or animal-derived scaffolds. Adjustable variables to modify the physical and biochemical properties of the resulting scaffolds include the protocol for the sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-based decellularization procedure, surface coatings for cell attachment, plant type for decellularization, differentiation media, and integrity and shape of the substrate. These tunable cellulose platforms can host a wide range of mammalian cell types from muscle to bone cells, as well as malignancies. Here, fundamentals and applications of decellularized plant-based scaffolds are discussed. These biocompatible, naturally perfused, tunable, and easily prepared decellularized scaffolds may allow eco-friendly manufacturing frameworks for application in tissue engineering and organs-on-a-chip.

Repositioning Natural Antioxidants for Therapeutic Applications in Tissue Engineering

Although a large panel of natural antioxidants demonstrate a protective effect in preventing cellular oxidative stress, their low bioavailability limits therapeutic activity at the targeted injury site. The importance to deliver drug or cells into oxidative microenvironments can be realized with the development of biocompatible redox-modulating materials. The incorporation of antioxidant compounds within implanted biomaterials should be able to retain the antioxidant activity, while also allowing graft survival and tissue recovery. This review summarizes the recent literature reporting the combined role of natural antioxidants with biomaterials. Our review highlights how such functionalization is a promising strategy in tissue engineering to improve the engraftment and promote tissue healing or regeneration.

Plant Tissues as 3D Natural Scaffolds for Adipose, Bone and Tendon Tissue Regeneration

Decellularized tissues are a valid alternative as tissue engineering scaffolds, thanks to the three-dimensional structure that mimics native tissues to be regenerated and the biomimetic microenvironment for cells and tissues growth. Despite decellularized animal tissues have long been used, plant tissue decellularized scaffolds might overcome availability issues, high costs and ethical concerns related to the use of animal sources. The wide range of features covered by different plants offers a unique opportunity for the development of tissue-specific scaffolds, depending on the morphological, physical and mechanical peculiarities of each plant. Herein, three different plant tissues (i.e., apple, carrot, and celery) were decellularized and, according to their peculiar properties (i.e., porosity, mechanical properties), addressed to regeneration of adipose tissue, bone tissue and tendons, respectively. Decellularized apple, carrot and celery maintained their porous structure, with pores ranging from 70 to 420 μm, depending on the plant source, and were stable in PBS at 37°C up to 7 weeks. Different mechanical properties (i.e., Eapple = 4 kPa, Ecarrot = 43 kPa, Ecelery = 590 kPa) were measured and no indirect cytotoxic effects were demonstrated in vitro after plants decellularization. After coating with poly-L-lysine, apples supported 3T3-L1 preadipocytes adhesion, proliferation and adipogenic differentiation; carrots supported MC3T3-E1 pre-osteoblasts adhesion, proliferation and osteogenic differentiation; celery supported L929 cells adhesion, proliferation and guided anisotropic cells orientation. The versatile features of decellularized plant tissues and their potential for the regeneration of different tissues are proved in this work.