A Preliminary Study of Constructing Tissue Engineered Oral Mucosa

Background: Adipose derived stem cells (ADSCs) have a great potential for tissue-engineering purposes, and they may be introduced in oral mucosa tissue engineering for urethroplasty. This study was aim to develop a tissue-engineered oral mucosa through seeding oral keratinocytes (OKs) and adipose derived stem cells (ADSCs) on small intestine submucosa (SIS). Methods: SIS was obtained from porcine small intestine, and OKs and ADSCs were obtained from canine sources and were cultured and expanded in vitro. The two cell lines were seeded on the two surfaces of the SIS, and the cell-scaffold compound graft was cultured in an air fluid level for 1 week. Results: : The SIS exhibited a porous membrane, and no cells were found through HE staining. The model cultured with OK-SIS only formed a thin and loose epithelium. Whereas the model cultured with OK-SIS-ADSC was much thicker and denser. Conclusion: The co-cultured of ADSC and OK grew well on the SIS in which the OKs formed a multilayer of epithelium. So it is feasible to construct a tissue-engineered oral mucosa graft with ADSCs, OKs and SIS. The ADSCs contribute to a thicker epithelium formation.