Fabrication of highly porous, three-demensional human extracellular matrix (ECM) scaffolds derived from fat tissue

Abstract

The concept of tissue engineering is to transplant biological cells and molecules within a three-dimensional (3D) porous scaffold, which is fabricated from biocompatible and biodegradable materials for tissue replacement and regeneration. In general, many naturally derived and synthetic materials have been extensively explored as a scaffold material, the tissue engineering approach still has material limitations for scaffolds. Here, we describe human ECM scaffolds derived from adipose tissue. Adipose tissue can be easily obtained by liposuction, a common surgical procedure. Adipose tissue contains various cell types such as mature adipocyte, adipose-derived stem cell (ASC), fibroblast, and immune cells and include ECM components, such as collagen, reticular fibers, elastin fibers, nerve fibers, vascular stroma, and lymph nodes. In addition, adipose tissue secretes a variety of peptides, cytokines, and complement factors. Therefore, human adipose tissue could be useful as ideal scaffold materials for tissue regeneration. In this study, we present a new tissue engineering strategy using human extracellular matrix (ECM) scaffolds derived from adipose tissue.