Assessing the Functional Mechanical Properties of Bioengineered Organs With Emphasis on the Lung

Recently, an exciting new approach has emerged in regenerative medicine pushing the forefront of tissue engineering to create bioartificial organs. The basic idea is to create biological scaffolds made of extracellular matrix (ECM) that preserves the three‐dimensional architecture of an entire organ...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of cellular physiology 2014-09, Vol.229 (9), p.1134-1140
Main Author: Suki, Béla
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Bioartificial Organs
Biomechanical Phenomena
Cell Differentiation
Cell Proliferation
Collagen - metabolism
Elasticity
Elastin - metabolism
Extracellular Matrix - metabolism
Humans
Lung - cytology
Lung - metabolism
Lung - physiology
Lung Volume Measurements
Microscopy, Atomic Force
Models, Biological
Oscillometry
Pressure
Proteoglycans - metabolism
Regenerative Medicine - methods
Respiration
Stem Cells - metabolism
Stem Cells - physiology
Stress, Mechanical
Tissue Engineering - methods
Tissue Scaffolds
X-Ray Microtomography
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Summary:Recently, an exciting new approach has emerged in regenerative medicine pushing the forefront of tissue engineering to create bioartificial organs. The basic idea is to create biological scaffolds made of extracellular matrix (ECM) that preserves the three‐dimensional architecture of an entire organ. These scaffolds are then used as templates for functional tissue and organ reconstruction after re‐seeding the structure with stem cells or appropriately differentiated cells. In order to make sure that these bioartificial organs will be able to function in the mechanical environment of the native tissue, it is imperative to fully characterize their mechanical properties and match them with those of the normal native organs. This mini‐review briefly summarizes modern measurement techniques of mechanical function characterized mostly by the material or volumetric stiffness. Micro‐scale and macro‐scale techniques such as atomic force microscopy and the tissue strip stress–strain approach are discussed with emphasis on those that combine mechanical measurements with structural visualization. Proper micro‐scale stiffness helps attachment and differentiation of cells in the bioartificial organ whereas macro‐scale functionality is provided by the overall mechanical properties of the construct. Several approaches including failure mechanics are also described, which specifically probe the contributions of the main ECM components including collagen, elastin, and proteoglycans to organ level ECM function. Advantages, drawbacks, and possible pitfalls as well as interpretation of the data are given throughout. Finally, specific techniques to assess the functionality of the ECM of bioartificial lungs are separately discussed. J. Cell. Physiol. 229: 1134–1140, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
ISSN:0021-9541
1097-4652
DOI:10.1002/jcp.24600