Decellularized placental sponge as an excellent carrier for human mesenchymal stem cells and management of full-thickness skin wounds: an in vitro and in vivo study

Skin injuries lead to a large burden of morbidity. Although numerous clinical and scientific strategies have been investigated to repair injured skin, optimal regeneration therapy still poses a considerable obstacle. To address this challenge, the decellularized extracellular matrix-based scaffolds recellularized with stem cells offer significant advancements in skin regeneration and wound healing. Herein, a decellularized human placental sponge (DPS) was fabricated using the decellularization and freeze-drying technique, and then re-cellularized with human adipose-derived mesenchymal cells (MSCs). The biological and biomechanical properties and skin full-thickness wound healing capacity of the stem cells-DPS constructs were investigated in vitro and in vivo . The DPS exhibited a uniform three-dimensional microstructure with an interconnected pore network, 89.21% porosity, a low degradation rate, and good mechanical properties. The DPS and MSCs-DPS constructs were implanted in skin full-thickness wound models in mice. An accelerated wound healing was observed in the wounds implanted with MSCs-DPS construct when compared to DPS and control (wounds with no treatment) during 7 and 21 days post-implantation follow-up. In the MSCs-DPS group, the wound was completely re-epithelialized, the epidermis layer was properly organized, and the dermis and epidermis' bilayer structures were restored after 7 days. Our findings suggest DPS is an excellent carrier for MSCs culture and delivery to skin wounds and now promises to proceed with clinical evaluations.