Controlling stem cell behavior with decellularized extracellular matrix scaffolds

Abstract

Decellularized tissues have become a common regenerative medicine platform with multiple materials being researched in academic laboratories, tested in animal studies, and used clinically. Ideally, when a tissue is decellularized the native cell niche is maintained with many of the structural and biochemical cues that naturally interact with the cells of that particular tissue. This makes decellularized tissue materials an excellent platform for providing cells with the signals needed to initiate and maintain differentiation into tissue-specific lineages. The extracellular matrix (ECM) that remains after the decellularization process contains the components of a tissue specific microenvironment that is not possible to create synthetically. The ECM of each tissue has a different composition and structure and therefore has unique properties and potential for affecting cell behavior. This review describes the common methods for preparing decellularized tissue materials and the effects that decellularized materials from different tissues have on cell phenotype.

Keywords: decellularization; differentiation; extracellular matrix; stem cell; tissue engineering.

Figure 1

Decellularized tissue materials made from various tissues. After removing the cellular contents of the native tissue, the extracellular matrix remains and can be left unprocessed as an entire organ, or be processed into a section, hydrogel, or coating. The tissues that have been processed for the purpose of testing cell differentiation effects are shown below each material category.

Figure 2

Representative scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images for different decellularized tissues. These images demonstrate the vast differences in microenvironment architecture that are found in different tissues. These architectures make up the local niche that cells interact with and are therefore understood to play a significant role in shaping cell differentiation into corresponding cell lineages. SEM images reprinted with permission from [, , , , –68].