Preparation of Decellularized Kidney Scaffolds in Rats

Tissue engineering is a cutting-edge discipline in biomedicine. Cell culture techniques can be applied for regeneration of functional tissues and organs to replace diseased or damaged organs. Scaffolds are needed to facilitate the generation of three-dimensional organs or tissues using differentiated stem cells in vivo. In this report, we describe a novel method for developing vascularized scaffolds using decellularized rat kidneys. Eight-week-old Sprague-Dawley rats were used in this study, and heparin was injected into the heart to facilitate flow into the renal vessels, allowing heparin to perfuse into the renal vessels. The abdominal cavity was opened, and the left kidney was collected. The collected kidneys were perfused for 9 h using detergents, such as Triton X-100 and sodium dodecyl sulfate, to decellularize the tissue. Decellularized kidney scaffolds were then gently washed with 1% penicillin/streptomycin and heparin to remove cellular debris and chemical residues. Transplantation of stem cells with the decellularized vascular scaffolds is expected to facilitate the generation of new organs. Thus, the vascularized scaffolds may provide a foundation for tissue engineering of organ grafts in the future.