[Biocompatibility of bladder extracellular matrix as tissue engineering scaffold].

OBJECTIVE

To investve To investigate the biocompatibility of rabbit bladder extracellular matrix (BECM) and evaluate the feasibility of using BECM as scaffold for reconstruction of tissue engineering urinary tract.

METHODS

By the application of associating the solution diosmosis, enzymatic digestion with chemical detergent, the rabbit bladder was decellularized to prepare the BECM, on which rabbit bladder transitional epithelial cells were cultured and seeded in vitro, of which the adhesion and proliferation were observed. MTT method was used to evaluate the cytotoxicity of BECM, which was implanted into the rabbit back for evaluating its histocompatibility meant that the toxicity, degradation and local inflammatory response were studied through gross observation and HE staining.

RESULTS

The prepared rabbit BECMs were freeze-drying, and looked like thin semitransparent membrane. By electron microscope examination, there were no residues of cells found on BECM membrane, of which one side had the reticular fibrous structure, and the other side had the compact structure. The co-culture of BECM membrane with bladder transitional epithelial cells indicated that BECM had a good cytocompatibility. The cytotoxicity score tested by MTT method was number 0 and 1. The rabbits in the implant test had no abnormal response. The BECMs degraded gradually in vivo, and growth of peripheral tissue could be seen in the materials after eight weeks.

CONCLUSION

The BECMs prepared by our process are cell-free under scanning electron microscopy. Meanwhile, the reticular structure of the tissue matrix is well preserved. The BECMs have the good cytocompatibility with transitional epithelial cells but without cytotoxicity. The BECMs can degrade gradually in vivo with good histocompatibility. BECM is a good bio-derived material of tissue engineering as scaffold for urinary tract reconstruction.