Acellular Fish Skin Grafts and Pig Urinary Bladder Matrix Assessed in the Collagen-Induced Arthritis Mouse Model

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Science
• Immunology
• Regenerative Medicine

Background:

• Cellular- and tissue-based products (CTPs) are crucial for wound treatment.
• Ensuring CTPs do not trigger autoimmunity is vital for patient safety.
• Assessing immunogenicity of CTPs from piscine and porcine sources is necessary.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the immunogenic potential of piscine skin and porcine urinary bladder matrix extracts.
• To determine if these CTPs induce autoimmunity in a collagen-induced arthritis model.
• To assess the safety of piscine-derived CTPs for wound healing applications.

Main Methods:

• Male DBA/1J mice were allocated into four groups: bovine type II collagen, piscine skin extract, porcine urinary bladder matrix extract, or Freund's adjuvant control.
• Animals received injections at the start and week 3.
• Clinical signs of arthritis and anti-collagen antibody levels (IgG) were measured at weeks 5 and 8.

Main Results:

• Only the bovine type II collagen group developed clinical arthritis and high anti-type II collagen IgG levels.
• The porcine extract group showed detectable anti-type II collagen IgG, but lower than the collagen group.
• Piscine skin extract and control groups did not develop arthritis or significant anti-collagen IgG responses.

Conclusions:

• Piscine skin extracts do not provoke systemic autoimmunity against type II collagens in DBA/1J mice.
• Porcine urinary bladder matrix extracts induced a partial immune response.
• Piscine-derived CTPs show potential for safe use in wound treatment without inducing autoimmunity.