Bioengineering a bioartifical lung tissue on the decellularized lung-based scaffold

Lung transplantation is the definitive treatment for end-stage lung disease but limited clinical application due to the shortage of donor organs and immunosuppression after transplantation.Conducting tissue engineering technology,an engineered lung may become a considerable substitute for lung transplantation.In this study,we utilized decellularized lung as three dimension(3D)scaffolds to construct lung models by co-culturing human bronchial epithelial cells(16HBE cells),endothelial cells and fibroblasts in vitro along with a rotating bioreactor mimicking in vivo hydrodynamics.We found that decellularized lung tissue retained various components of extracellular matrix(ECM)and the structure of airways and vasculatures.Separately seeding mixed cell suspension(16HBE/fibroblasts)via trachea and endothelial cells through pulmonary artery,good viability and uniform distribution of repopulated cells were observed,while mixed cells appropriate attach to alveolar and small airway and endothelial cells to the vasculature.