Seeding and Implantation of a Biosynthetic Tissue-engineered Tracheal Graft in a Mouse Model

Summary

Graft stenosis poses a critical obstacle in tissue engineered airway replacement. To investigate cellular mechanisms underlying stenosis, we utilize a murine model of tissue engineered tracheal replacement with seeded bone marrow mononuclear cells (BM-MNC). Here, we detail our protocol, including scaffold manufacturing, BM-MNC isolation, graft seeding, and implantation.

Abstract

Treatment options for congenital or secondary long segment tracheal defects have historically been limited due to an inability to replace functional tissue. Tissue engineering holds great promise as a potential solution with its ability to integrate cells and signaling molecules into a 3-dimensional scaffold. Recent work with tissue engineered tracheal grafts (TETGs) has seen some success but their translation has been limited by graft stenosis, graft collapse, and delayed epithelialization. In order to investigate the mechanisms driving these issues, we have developed a mouse model for tissue engineered tracheal graft implantation. TETGs were constructed using electrospun polymers polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyurethane (PU) in a mixture of PET and PU (20:80 percent weight). Scaffolds were then seeded using bone marrow mononuclear cells isolated from 6-8 week-old C57BL/6 mice by gradient centrifugation. Ten million cells per graft were seeded onto the lumen of the scaffold and allowed to incubate overnight before implantation between the third and seventh tracheal rings. These grafts were able to recapitulate the findings of stenosis and delayed epithelialization as demonstrated by histological analysis and lack of Keratin 5 and Keratin 14 basal epithelial cells on immunofluorescence. This model will serve as a tool for investigating cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in host remodeling.

Introduction

Long-segment tracheal defects can present as rare congenital conditions such as complete tracheal rings and tracheal agenesis, as well as trauma, malignancy, and infection. When exceeding 6 cm in adults or 30% of the tracheal length in children, these defects cannot be treated by surgical reconstruction. Attempts to replace the airway with autologous tissue, cadaveric transplants, and artificial constructs have been plagued by chronic infection, granulation, mechanical failure, and stenosis.

Tissue engineered tracheal grafts (TETGs) can potentially address these problems while avoiding the need for life-long immunosuppression. In the last d....

Protocol

All methods described here have been approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) at Nationwide Children's Hospital.

1. Scaffold Manufacturing

1. Prepare a polymer nanofiber precursor solution by: 1) dissolving 8 wt% PET in 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoroisopropanol and heating the solution to 60 °C and by 2) dissolving 3 wt% PU in 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoroisopropanol at room temperature.
2. Once cooled, combine the solutions to create a final polymer mixtur.......

Discussion

Development of a mouse model for tissue engineered tracheas is essential in understanding the factors that have limited clinical translation of the TETGs; namely graft collapse, stenosis and delayed epithelialization⁴. A few factors that contribute to these limitations include selection of graft material, the manufacturing process, scaffold design and cell seeding protocols. This model allows for faster evaluation of these factors in order to understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms affect.......

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
0.9% Sodium chloride injection	APP Pharmaceuticals	NDC 63323-186-10
10cc serological pipet	Falcon	357551
18G 1.5in. Needle	BD	305190
1mL Syringe	BD	309659
24-well plate	Corning	3526
25cc serological pipet	Falcon	356535
25G 1in. Needle	BD	305125
50cc tube	BD	352070
Alcohol prep pads	Fisher Healthcare	NDC 69250-661-02
Baytril (enrofloxacin) solution	Bayer Healthcare, LLC	NDC 0859-2267-01
Black polyamide monofilament suture, 9-0	AROSurgical Instruments Corporation	T05A09N10-13
C57BL/6, female	Jackson laboratories	664	6-8 weeks old
Citrate Buffer pH 6.0 20x concentrate	ThermoFisher	5000
Colibri retractors	F.S.T	17000-04
Cotton tipped applicators	Fisher scientific	23-400-118
Cytokeratin 14 Monoclonal Antibody	ThermoFisher	MA5-11599
Dumont #5 Forceps	F.S.T	11251-20
Dumont #5/45 forceps	F.S.T	11251-35
Dumont #7 - Fine Forceps	F.S.T	11274-20
F4/80 Rat anti-mouse antibody	Bio-Rad	MCA497R
Ficoll	Sigma	10831-100mL
Fine scissors- Sharp-blunt	F.S.T	14028-10
Fisherbrand Premium Cover Glasses	ThermoFisher	12-548-5M
Fluoroshield Mounting Media with DAPI	Abcam	ab104139
Goat-anti mouse IgG Secondary Antibody Alexa Fluor 594	ThermoFisher	A-11001
Goat-anti Rabbit IgG Secondary Antibody Alexa Fluor 594	ThermoFisher	A-11012
Goat-anti Rat IgG Secondary Antibody Alexa Fluor 647	ThermoFisher	A-21247
Ibuprofen	Precision Dose, Inc	NDC 68094-494-59
Iodine prep pads	Professional disposables international, Inc.	NDC 10819-3883-1
Keratin 5 Polyclonal Antibody, Purified	BioLegend	905501
Ketamine hydrochloride injection	Hospira Inc.	NDC 0409-2053
Micro-Adson forceps	F.S.T	11018-12
Microscope	Leica	M80
Non-woven sponges	Covidien	441401
Opthalmic ointment	Dechra Veterinary products	NDC 17033-211-38
PBS	Gibco	10010-023
PET/PU (Polyethylene terephthalate & Polyurethane) scaffolds	Nanofiber solutions		Custom ordered
Petri dish	BD	353003
RPMI 1640 Medium	Gibco	11875-093
TISH Needle Holder/Forceps	Micrins	MI1540
Trimmer	Wahl	9854-500
Vannas-Tübingen Spring Scissors	F.S.T	15008-08
Warm water recirculator	Gaymar	TP-700
Xylazine sterile solution	Akorn animal health	NDC 59399-110-20