15502-m-pleumeekers

Figure 2. Matrix integrity and mechanical properties of decellularized bovine ear cartilage scaffolds. (A) sGAG, collagen and elastin contents of untreated and decellularized bovine ear cartilage scaffolds. Less intense Safranin-O (Saf-O) staining confirmed sGAG reduction, while immunohistochemistry of collagen type II (Coll-II, counterstained with haematoxylin),elastin and resorcin fuchsin (RF) stain confirmed retention of these matrix components. Histological images are representative for all donors. (B) Equilibrium modulus after decellularization. Data shown as mean ± SD for 3 donors, 6 samples per donor for sGAG and collagen analysis. Elastin data is shown as mean ± SD for 2 donors, 6 samples per donor and missing values are excluded. scaffolds: Eeq (R 2 = 0.64), t 1/2 (R 2 =0.51) and σ max (R 2 =0.618). sGAG content was statistically significantly correlated to Eeq ( p =0.002), σ max ( p =0.005) and t 1/2 ( p =0.001) of the decellularized b EC and b AC scaffolds. Decellularized ear cartilage scaffolds are not cytotoxic and allow chondrogenic differentiation of human BMSCs To assess the cytocompatibility of the b EC scaffolds, the metabolic activity of plated human BMSCs in the presence of decellularized b EC scaffolds was measured after 4 days of culture. No statistically significant effect on the metabolic activity of the BMSCs due to the decellularized scaffolds was found ( p =0.559). Relative to the control wells, 90.76 ± 8.22% of the cells were viable in the presence of a decellularized b EC scaffold, compared to the 139 DECELLULARIZED CARTILAGE: AN ECM-DERIVED SCAFFOLD 7