Systemic decellularization for multi-organ scaffolds in rats

Bioscaffolds derived from animal organs are promising materials for xenotransplantation and regenerative medicine. For effective generation of biological scaffolds from diverse organs, there have been many technical challenges. In this study, we introduced a novel approach to create multiorgan bioscaffolds through systemic decellularization.

To obtain acellular bioscaffolds, the healthy adult rats were systemically perfused with ionic detergent through the carotid artery. Additional liver perfusion was set up to prevent potential obstruction from the influx of the decellularized debris via the portal vein. The perfusion system was controlled to maintain a constant physiological cardiac output of approximately 50 mL/min and was designed to minimize air entrapment. After decellularization, every organ designated for bioscaffold was harvested for evaluation of vascular structure and histology.

The perfusion times were different for each organ. In our histological analysis, the decellularized bioscaffolds harvested from most organs including major solid organs (ie, heart, liver, and kidney) as well as the others (such as stomach, intestines, spleen, etc) represented no evidence of residual cellular materials. Furthermore, the well-preserved collagen materials and intact vascular structures were also confirmed.

The results from this study suggested that this systemic decellularization has the advantages to obtain a variety of bioscaffolds from single donor, and we can even decellularize organs with complex influx vascular structures. This method may also be used to study organ bioengineering for patients who need simultaneous combined organ transplantation.