Decellularization of kidney tissue: comparison of sodium lauryl ether sulfate and sodium dodecyl sulfate for allotransplantation in rat

Background: Chronic kidney diseases and end stage renal disease are growing threats worldwide. Tissue engineering is a new hope to surpass the current limitations such as the shortage of donor. To do so, the first step would be fabrication of an intact decellularized kidney scaffold. In the current study, an automatic decellularization device was developed to perfuse and decellularize male rats' kidneys using both sodium lauryl ether sulfate (SLES) and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and to compare their efficacy in kidney decellularization and post-transplantation angiogenesis.Methods: After anesthesia, kidneys were perfused with either 1% SDS solution for 4 h or 1% SLES solution for 6 h. The decellularized scaffolds were stained with hematoxylin and eosin, periodic acid Schiff, Masson’s trichrome, and Alcian blue to determine cell removal and glycogen, collagen and glycosaminoglycan contents, respectively. Moreover, scanning electron microscopy was performed to evaluate the cell removal and preservation of microarchitecture of both SDS and SLES scaffolds. Additionally, DNA quantification assay was applied for all groups in order to measure residual DNA in the scaffolds and normal kidney. In order to demonstrate biocompatibility and bioactivity of the decellularized scaffolds two tests were done. The scaffolds were recellularized with the human umbilical cord mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (hUC-MSCs). In addition, the allotransplantation was performed in back muscle and angiogenesis was evaluated.Results: Complete cell removal in both SLES and SDS groups was observed in scanning electron microscopy and DNA quantification assays. Moreover, the extracellular matrix architecture of rat kidney in the SLES group was significantly preserved better than the SDS group. The hUC-MSCs were successfully migrated from the cell culture plate surface into the SDS and SLES decellularized scaffolds. The formation of blood capillaries and vessels were observed in the kidney allotransplantation in both SLES and SDS decellularized kidneys.Conclusions: We demonstrated that both SLES and SDS could be promising tools in kidney tissue engineering. The better preservation of extracellular matrix than SDS, introduces SLES as the solvent of choice for kidney decellularization.