Decellularized Wharton Jelly Implants Do Not Trigger Collagen and Cartilaginous Tissue Production in Tracheal Injury in Rabbits

Abstract

Background: Tracheal lesions are pathologies derived from the most diverse insults that can result in a fatal outcome. Despite the number of techniques designed for the treatment, a limiting factor is the extent of the extraction. Therefore, strategies with biomaterials can restructure tissues and maintain the organ’s functionality, like decellularized Wharton’s jelly (WJ) as a scaffold. The aim is to analyze the capacity of tracheal tissue regeneration after the implantation of decellularized WJ in rabbits submitted to a tracheal defect. Methods: An in vivo experimental study was undertaken using twenty rabbits separated into two groups (n = 10). Group 1 submitted to a tracheal defect, group 2 tracheal defect, and implantation of decellularized WJ. The analyses were performed 30 days after surgery through immunohistochemistry. Results: Inner tracheal area diameter (p = 0.643) didn’t show significance. Collagen type I, III, and Aggrecan highlighted no significant difference between the groups (both collagens with p = 0.445 and the Aggrecan p = 0.4). Conclusion: The scaffold appears to fit as a heterologous implant and did not trigger reactions such as rejection or extrusion of the material into the recipient. However, these results suggested that although the WJ matrix presents several characteristics as a biomaterial for tissue regeneration, it did not display histopathological benefits in trachea tissue regeneration.

Decellularized Wharton’s Jelly and Amniotic Membrane Demonstrate Potential Therapeutic Implants in Tracheal Defects in Rabbits

“…Foltz et al, 2022, in a similar study, which analyzed the properties of Wharton’s Jelly for 30 days in rabbits after a tracheal injury, suggested that despite its various characteristics as a biomaterial, this structure did not present histopathological benefits for the regeneration of tracheal tissue. In this study, cartilage formation was evaluated using the same Aggrecan marker, where there was no significant difference between the control and the Wharton’s Jelly groups over 30 days [ 17 ]. In another study, Simeoni et al (2021) evaluated a decellularized amniotic membrane as a framework for tracheal lesions using mesenchymal stem cells, finding cartilaginous tissue through the formation of immature collagen in the regions of the tracheal defects after 60 days [ 23 ].…”

“…Additionally, another study focused on the amniotic membrane revealed that including an anti-inflammatory molecule supported tissue regeneration in the trachea, leading to the development of immature cartilage and collagen formation, thereby preventing the reduction of the tracheal lumen [ 16 ]. Furthermore, research on using Wharton’s jelly in tracheal regeneration found that implantation did not elicit adverse reactions such as rejection and extrusion [ 17 ].…”

Decellularized umbilical cord stroma in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine: a systematic review

“…При создании КИК/ТИК in vitro важным условием для достижения высокой степени их сходства с естественной тканью является воспроизведение не только биохимических, но и биомеханических стимулов, обеспечивающих жизнедеятельность клеток в организме [ [18,19,24,25,[31][32][33]37], в 4 -только исследование in vivo (на животных) [34,41,43,44], и в 10 исследованиях были проведены оба типа доклинических испытаний [11,16,17,20,21,26,35,36,38,42]. Клинических исследований, отвечающих критериям включения, найдено не было.…”