Repair of bile duct defection with decellularized vascular matrix scaffold in a porcine model

Objective To explore the feasibility of repairing porcine bile duct defect with decellularized rabbit abdominal aorta matrix scaffold. Methods Sodium dodecyl sulfate and Sodium deoxycholate were used to remove the cells in the blood vessel, and the residual DNA and RNA fragments were removed by nuclease. The prepared scaffold was implanted to repair defect of bile duct in swine, which were sacrificed after 45 days of surgery for histological evaluation. Results HE, Masson and elastic fiber staining showed that the composition and structure of the scaffold maintained their native features after dcellularization treatment. DNA content in acelllular scaffold (0.12±0.01) μg/mg dry weight) was significantly decreased as compared with the native ones (2.31±0.03) μg/mg dry weight, P<0.05). Collagen content was increased from (152±22) μg/mg dry weight in intact aorta to (177±21) μg/mg dry weight. Adipose derived mesenchymal stem cells with typical morphology survived well in the decellularized vascular matrix. It was observed that seeded ASCs penetrated into the inner wall of the scaffold. After transplantation, there was no leakage in the anastomosis and collapse of acellular blood vessel matrix. After 45 days of transplantation, repaired bile duct was harvested for histological evaluation. HE and Masson staining revealed that there were a large number of cells distributed in the inner wall of the scaffold, and some suspected epithelial cells and glands were found. Conclusion Decellularized aorta matrix scaffold hold great potential in serving as scaffold repairing defect of bile duct. Key words: Bile ducts; Reconstructive surgical procedures; Animal experimentation