Crossing Kingdoms: Exploiting Decellularized Plants as Pre-Vascularized Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering

One of the major factors currently limiting clinical applicability of tissue-engineered grafts is the lack of a viable vascular network. There is a 100-200 μm diffusion limit that must be overcome and most current... [ view full abstract ]

One of the major factors currently limiting clinical applicability of tissue-engineered grafts is the lack of a viable vascular network. There is a 100-200 μm diffusion limit that must be overcome and most current bioengineering techniques are unable to provide patent microvasculature. Current focus has shifted towards biomimetic approaches, such as whole organ decellularization. However, mammalian tissues are in short supply, variable, and extensive research is needed before they become a viable clinical option. Decellularization of a more readily available and tunable tissue could yield improved graft availability at reduced costs.

Plants and animals exploit fundamentally different approaches to transporting fluids, yet there are surprising structural similarities. To take advantage of these similarities, we looked across different kingdoms and investigated whether plants and their innate vasculature could serve as perfusable scaffolds for tissue engineering. Standard perfusion decellularization techniques were adapted and applied to different plant species. Spinach and Artemisia annua leaves, parsley stems, and peanut hairy roots were all decellularized. Leaf vasculature remained patent post-decellularization and supported transport of various sized microparticles. Human cells successfully seeded onto and inside the plant scaffolds. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) attached to the inner walls of the leaf vasculature. Human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hPS-CMs) adhered to the surface and contracted for 17 days. By crossing kingdoms, we demonstrated the feasibility of decellularized plants to act as pre-vascularized scaffolds for tissue engineering applications. Furthermore, their use could provide a cost-efficient, readily available, “green” technology for creating large volume vascularized mammalian tissues.