title: Porcine pancreas extracellular matrix as a platform for endocrine pancreas bioengineering.
abstract: Emergent technologies of regenerative medicine have the potential to overcome the limitations of organ transplantation by supplying tissues and organs bioengineered in the laboratory. Pancreas bioengineering requires a scaffold that approximates the biochemical, spatial and vascular relationships of the native extracellular matrix (ECM). We describe the generation of a whole organ, three-dimensional pancreas scaffold using acellular porcine pancreas. Imaging studies confirm that our protocol effectively removes cellular material while preserving ECM proteins and the native vascular tree. The scaffold was seeded with human stem cells and porcine pancreatic islets, demonstrating that the decellularized pancreas can support cellular adhesion and maintenance of cell functions. These findings advance the field of regenerative medicine towards the development of a fully functional, bioengineered pancreas capable of establishing and sustaining euglycemia and may be used for transplantation to cure diabetes mellitus.
authors.affiliation: Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Winston Salem, NC 27157, USA.
authors.forename: Sayed-Hadi
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Mirmalek-Sani
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Orlando
authors.forename: John P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: McQuilling
authors.forename: Rajesh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pareta
authors.forename: David L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Mack
authors.forename: Marcus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Salvatori
authors.forename: Alan C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Farney
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Stratta
authors.forename: Anthony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Atala
authors.forename: Emmanuel C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Opara
authors.forename: Shay
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Soker
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D057005:Bioengineering / Q000379:methods*; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D003902:Detergents / Q000494:pharmacology; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000098:blood supply / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D010477:Perfusion; D034421:Sus scrofa
chemical_list: D003902:Detergents