Abstract
BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate effect of normal saline flush injection into bronchus on creation of decellularized lung scaffolds. METHODS: Pigs were used: 3 lung grafts for decellularization with pre-treatment of normal saline injection into a bronchus, 3 for decellularization without pre-treatment and 3 treated as normal controls. We compared the characteristics of lung scaffolds created by each method. RESULTS: The pretreatment procedure significantly reduced the DNA content of lung grafts, suggesting effective removal of cellular components. However, this pretreatment also reduced the elastin contents of lung grafts. CONCLUSIONS: Considering this characteristic of saline pretreatment, we must continue to look for better methods to produce ideal decellularized lung grafts.