Towards the development of a bioengineered scaffold: Comparison of different protocols for human nasal septum cartilage decellularization

Biological and biomimetic scaffolds derived from the decellularized extracellular matrix (ECM) of intact mammalian tissues have been successfully used in a variety of tissue reconstruction methods. There are a number of techniques to decellularize a tissue that generally fall into the categories of physical, chemical, and enzymatic, and these techniques are necessarily used in combination.The objective of this study was to examine four different decellularization techniques, including Triton X-100, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and nuclease solutions on human nasal septum cartilage (hNSC) constructs.Histological analysis showed, after decellularization with SDS, cells lacunae of all treated cartilage samples were empty, and no cell nuclei were left. Additionally, Masson’s trichrom staining results demonstrated a very intense blue staining of the collagen matrix of all examined decellularized samples, as well as native cartilage tissue. Overall, treatment with 2% SDS and nuclease solution for 6hr appeared to be the most effective agent for cartilage decellularization, as it resulted in complete decellularization while maintaining the collagen matrix. The results of this study are exciting as they indicate the feasibility of creating engineered cartilage that may be non-immunogenic as a replacement tissue.

Keywords:

Tissue engineering , Scaffold , Cartilage , Decellularization