Extracellular matrix grafts: From preparation to application (Review)

Abstract

Recently, the increasing emergency of traffic accidents and the unsatisfactory outcome of surgical intervention are driving research to seek a novel technology to repair traumatic soft tissue injury. From this perspective, decellularized matrix grafts (ECM‑G) including natural ECM materials, and their prepared hydrogels and bioscaffolds, have emerged as possible alternatives for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Over the past decades, several physical and chemical decellularization methods have been used extensively to deal with different tissues/organs in an attempt to carefully remove cellular antigens while maintaining the non‑immunogenic ECM components. It is anticipated that when the decellularized biomaterials are seeded with cells in vitro or incorporated into irregularly shaped defects in vivo, they can provide the appropriate biomechanical and biochemical conditions for directing cell behavior and tissue remodeling. The aim of this review is to first summarize the characteristics of ECM‑G and describe their major decellularization methods from different sources, followed by analysis of how the bioactive factors and undesired residual cellular compositions influence the biologic function and host tissue response following implantation. Lastly, we also provide an overview of the in vivo application of ECM‑G in facilitating tissue repair and remodeling.

Keywords: extracellular matrix grafts; decellularization protocols; tissue engineering; the host response.

Figure 1

Schematic representation of ECM hydrogel from preparation to application. The native tissues can achieve a diversity of ECM hydrogels via combination of physical, chemical and biological approaches together. The prepared ECM hydrogels themselves with/without incorporating growth factors and/or stem cells are used for tissue repair and regeneration, including spinal cord injury, peripheral nerve injury and myocardial infarction. Some of these may become a primary option for remodeling a variety of clinical tissues defects.