Prednisolone and mesenchymal stem cell preloading protect liver cell migration and mitigate extracellular matrix modification in transplanted decellularized rat liver

Human decidual mesenchymal stem cells obtained from early pregnancy attenuate bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis by inhibiting inflammation and apoptosis

BACKGROUND

Decidual mesenchymal stem cells (DMSCs) are easily obtained and exhibit strong anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic effects. Compared with bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs), their role in cell transplantation after idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis remains unclear. We investigated whether the transplantation of BMSCs and DMSCs could alleviate pulmonary inflammation and fibrosis in a bleomycin-induced mouse model of pulmonary fibrosis.

METHODS

BMSCs and DMSCs were derived from healthy donors. The anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic effects on both cell types were evaluated in vitro. The function of DMSCs in MLE-12 cells and mouse lung fibroblasts was examined using additional transwell coculture experiments in vitro. Twenty-one days after MSC transplantation, we examined the inflammatory factors in the serum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, collagen content, pathology, fibrotic area, lung function, and micro-computed tomography of the lung tissue.

RESULTS

DMSCs exhibited better anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic effects than BMSCs on MLE-12 cells in vitro. In addition, DMSCs inhibited tumor growth factor β-dependent epithelial-mesenchymal transition in MLE-12 cells and attenuated mouse lung fibroblasts fibrosis. Furthermore, transplantation of DMSCs in the mouse idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis model significantly attenuated pulmonary inflammation and lung fibrosis compared with BMSCs transplantation.

CONCLUSIONS

DMSCs exhibited better efficacy in improving pulmonary inflammation and lung fibrosis than BMSCs. Thus, DMSCs are a potential therapeutic target for pulmonary fibrosis.

The Prospect of Hepatic Decellularized Extracellular Matrix as a Bioink for Liver 3D Bioprinting

The incidence of liver diseases is high worldwide. Many factors can cause liver fibrosis, which in turn can lead to liver cirrhosis and even liver cancer. Due to the shortage of donor organs, immunosuppression, and other factors, only a few patients are able to undergo liver transplantation. Therefore, how to construct a bioartificial liver that can be transplanted has become a global research hotspot. With the rapid development of three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting in the field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, researchers have tried to use various 3D bioprinting technologies to construct bioartificial livers in vitro. In terms of the choice of bioinks, liver decellularized extracellular matrix (dECM) has many advantages over other materials for cell-laden hydrogel in 3D bioprinting. This review mainly summarizes the acquisition of liver dECM and its application in liver 3D bioprinting as a bioink with respect to availability, printability, and biocompatibility in many aspects and puts forward the current challenges and prospects.

Preparation and Use of Decellularized Extracellular Matrix for Tissue Engineering

The multidisciplinary fields of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine have the potential to revolutionize the practise of medicine through the abilities to repair, regenerate, or replace tissues and organs with functional engineered constructs. To this end, tissue engineering combines scaffolding materials with cells and biologically active molecules into constructs with the appropriate structures and properties for tissue/organ regeneration, where scaffolding materials and biomolecules are the keys to mimic the native extracellular matrix (ECM). For this, one emerging way is to decellularize the native ECM into the materials suitable for, directly or in combination with other materials, creating functional constructs. Over the past decade, decellularized ECM (or dECM) has greatly facilitated the advance of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, while being challenged in many ways. This article reviews the recent development of dECM for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, with a focus on the preparation of dECM along with its influence on cell culture, the modification of dECM for use as a scaffolding material, and the novel techniques and emerging trends in processing dECM into functional constructs. We highlight the success of dECM and constructs in the in vitro, in vivo, and clinical applications and further identify the key issues and challenges involved, along with a discussion of future research directions.

An overview of post transplantation events of decellularized scaffolds

Regenerative medicine and tissue engineering are reasonable techniques for repairing failed tissues and could be a suitable alternative to organ transplantation. One of the most widely used methods for preparing bioscaffolds is the decellularization procedure. Although cell debris and DNA are removed from the decellularized tissues, important compositions of the extracellular matrix including proteins, proteoglycans, and glycoproteins are nearly preserved. Moreover, the obtained scaffolds have a 3-dimensional (3D) structure, appropriate naïve mechanical properties, and good biocompatibility. After transplantation, different types of host cells migrate to the decellularized tissues. Histological and immunohistochemical assessment of the different bioscaffolds after implantation reveals the migration of parenchymal cells, angiogenesis, as well as the invasion of inflammatory and giant foreign cells. In this review, the events after transplantation including angiogenesis, scaffold degradation, and the presence of immune and tissue-specific progenitor cells in the decellularized scaffolds in various hosts, are discussed.