The biological properties of the decellularized tracheal scaffolds and 3D printing biomimetic materials: A comparative study.

The construction of ideal tissue engineering trachea has always been a difficult problem in trachea transplantation surgery. The biological characteristics of decellularized matrix prepared by detergent-enzymatic (DEM) and 3D printing biomimetic scaffold (PTS) in vivo and in vitro were compared. In order to comprehensively evaluate its performance, we tested morphological and biomechanical characteristics of the native tracheas(Group A), DEM(Group B), and PTS(Group C). The above groups were co-cultured with bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs), after which cell attachment and proliferation on the scaffolds were detected. Allogeneic implantation experiments were performed to assess the in vivo biocompatibility of the studied scaffolds. Moreover, an in-situ experiment of the tracheal repair was conducted to compare the survival of every group. The biomechanical properties of PTS were significantly better than those of other scaffolds (P < .05). And they retained their structural integrity in the host compared with the other scaffolds (P < .05). Besides, significantly milder immune-rejection reactions were observed in Group C than those in Group A (P < .05). In situ experiments showed that Group C significantly a good postoperative condition compared with the other scaffold groups (P < .05). Fiberoptic bronchoscopy analysis of PTS showed a better condition in the lumen. In conclusion, PTS has excellent biomechanical properties. Although the PTS group showed lower biocompatibility than the decellularized group, it exhibited better cell attachment and proliferation. In situ transplantation results showed that PTS could be an ideal source of tissue engineering material for tracheal repair.