Effect of Mummy Substance on the Proliferation of Human Adipose-Derived Stem Cells in Acellular Scaffold

Background and Aim: Regenerative medicine is focused on woundhealing and the proliferation of different human tissue. Acellular scaffoldextracted from the extracellular matrix has been used for constructive andregenerative medicine. Adipose tissue is commonly used as the sourceof adult stem cell. These cells enhance the vascularization capacity ofscaffolds. Mummy is a pitch-like substance that found naturally in thealtitudes. It used to wound healing in ancient medicine. The aim of thisstudy was estimating the effect of the mummy on the proliferation ofhuman ASCs (adipose-derived stem cells) in the acellular scaffold.Methods: Decellularization of sheep jejunum was carried out usingchemical reagents and various physical conditions in order to determineits morphology and the degree of decellularization, H&E staining wasapplied. Then, the scaffolds were treated with mummy substance and forcharacterized using FTIR, FE-SEM, and UTM. ADCs were seeded on thescaffold and the morphology and adhesion of the cells to the scaffoldswere assessed through FE-SEM after 24 and 48 h incubation. Also, theefficiency of a mummy for inducing the proliferation of ADCs on thescaffolds was evaluated using the MTT assay.Results: Findings revealed satisfactory decellularization of jejunumwhich could be due to its thin thickness. H&E sections clearly showedthat decellularization had removed all cell nuclei, but some cell nucleiappeared to be present in demineralized sections. Mechanical propertiesand structural form were preserved in both mummy-loaded and unloadeddecellularized matrices. FE-SEM showed that the mummy loaded andunloaded decellularized matrix possesses similar matrix morphologywith a randomly oriented fibrillar structure and interconnecting pores.No toxicity was observed in all treatments, and viability, expansion,and cell proliferation were supported in both scaffolds. Importantly, theproliferation capacity of ASCs on Mummy-loaded decellularized scaffoldsignificantly increased after 24 and 48 h incubation time comparedto the unloaded scaffold (P<0.001). These results clearly indicate thatmummy accelerates ASCs proliferation on the mummy-loaded matrices.Conclusion: The results of this study suggested that mummy has potentialsto accelerate proliferation ASCs on the acellular scaffolds. This showsthat mummy substance in agreement with public beliefs and ancientmedicine probably effective in stimulating re-epithelialization phases ofwound healing by in vivo application.

کلیدواژه ها:

Tissue engineering ، Mummy substance ، Acellular scaffold ، Adipose-derived stem cell ، Cell proliferation