Constructing liver-like tissue in situ based on plant-derived cellulose scaffolds alleviating acute liver injury

Abstract

Despite the promise of tissue engineering for treating acute liver injury (ALI), functional vascular system construction is still not fully achieved in liver tissue engineering. Multilayered space materials similar to liver lobules and high-precision vasculature are necessary for liver regeneration. In the present study, we found that apple-derived cellulose scaffolds prepared via decellularization possessed the aforementioned properties and could serve as a three-dimensional scaffold for proliferation of adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs). In vitro, we successfully induced ADSCs into hepatocyte-like cells in apple-derived cellulose scaffolds. Then, we implanted apple-derived cellulose scaffolds loaded with ADSCs in mice with ALI. Interestingly, we found that liver function recovered in ALI mice and the implants developed vasculature and bile duct structures. Further transcriptomic analysis indicated that apple-derived cellulose scaffolds could activate metabolism and promote vascular regeneration pathways while inhibiting immune and inflammatory pathways. Our study demonstrated that apple-derived cellulose scaffolds combined with stem cells can treat ALI.