title: Creation and implantation of acellular rat renal ECM-based scaffolds.
abstract: Kidney transplantation is the only potentially curative treatment for patient facing end-stage renal disease, and it is now routinely used. Its use is mainly limited by the supply of transplantable donor organs, which far exceeds the demand. Regenerative medicine and tissue engineering offer promising means for overcoming this shortage. In the present study, we developed and validated a protocol for producing acellular rat renal scaffolds. Left kidneys were removed from 26 male Lewis rats (weights: 250-350 g) and decellularized by means of aortic anterograde perfusion with ionic and anionic detergents (Triton X-100 1% and SDS 1%, respectively). 19 scaffolds thus obtained (and contralateral native kidneys as controls) were deeply characterized in order to evaluate the decellularization quality, the preservation of extracellular matrix components and resultant micro-angioarchitecture structure. The other 7 were transplanted into 7 recipient rats that had undergone unilateral nephrectomy. Recipients were sacrificed on post-transplantation day 7 and the scaffolds subjected to histologic studies. The dual-detergent protocol showed, with only 5 h of perfusion per organ, to obtain thoroughly decellularized renal scaffolds consisting almost exclusively of extracellular matrix. Finally the macro- and the microarchitecture of the renal parenchyma were well preserved, and the grafts were implanted with ease. Seven days after transplant, the scaffolds were morphologically intact although all vascular structures were obstructed with thrombi. Production and implantation of acellular rat renal scaffolds is a suitable platform for further studies on regenerative medicine and tissue engineering.
authors.affiliation: a Dept. of General Surgery ; IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo; Dept. of General Surgery; University of Pavia , Pavia , Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Peloso
authors.forename: Jacopo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ferrario
authors.forename: Benedetta
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Maiga
authors.forename: Ilaria
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Benzoni
authors.forename: Carolina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bianco
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Citro
authors.forename: Manuela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Currao
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Malara
authors.forename: Annalisa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gaspari
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Balduini
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abelli
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Piemonti
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dionigi
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Orlando
authors.forename: Marcello
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maestri
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002474:Cell-Free System; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000637:transplantation*; D007668:Kidney / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development*; D008297:Male; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D051381:Rats; D011917:Rats, Inbred Lew; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000295:instrumentation*; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds
keywords: DCD, Donation after cardiac death; ECD, Expanded donor criteria; ECM, Extracellular matrix; ESRD, End-stagerenal disease; bioscaffold; extracellular matrix; kidney transplantation; organ bioengineering; rat model; regenerative medicine; scaffold