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Extraction and Characterization of Human Adipose Tissue-Derived Collagen: Toward Xeno-Free Tissue Engineering

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Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Aims and scope

Abstract

Background:

Collagen is a key component of connective tissue and has been frequently used in the fabrication of medical devices for tissue regeneration. Human-originated collagen is particularly appealing due to its low immune response as an allograft biomaterial compared to xenografts and its ability to accelerate the regeneration process. Ethically and economically, adipose tissues available from liposuction clinics are a good resource to obtain human collagen. However, studies are still scarce on the extraction and characterization of human collagen, which originates from adipose tissue. The aim of this study is to establish a novel and simple method to extract collagen from human adipose tissue, characterize the collagen, and compare it with commercial-grade porcine collagen for tissue engineering applications.

Methods:

We developed a method to extract the collagen from human adipose tissue under quasi-Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) conditions, including freezing the tissue, blood removal, and ethanol-based purification. Various techniques, including protein quantification, decellularization assessment, SDS-PAGE, FTIR, and CD spectroscopy analysis, were used for characterization. Amino acid composition was compared with commercial collagen. Biocompatibility and cell proliferation tests were performed, and in vitro tests using collagen sponge scaffolds were conducted with statistical analysis.

Results:

Our results showed that this human adipose-derived collagen was equivalent in quality to commercially available porcine collagen. In vitro testing demonstrated high cell attachment and the promotion of cell proliferation.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, we developed a simple and novel method to extract and characterize collagen and extracellular matrix from human adipose tissue, offering a potential alternative to animal-derived collagen for xeno-free tissue engineering applications.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Promotion of Innovative Businesses for Regulation-Free Special Zones funded by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS, Korea, Grant No. P0021262) and was partially supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea grant funded (Grant No. NRF-2021R1C1C1009004).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medical Device Development Center, Daegu-Gyeongbuk Medical Innovation Foundation, 80, Chembok-ro, Dong-gu, Daegu, 41061, Republic of Korea

    Minseong Kim, MyungGu Yeo, KyoungHo Lee, Min-Jeong Park, Gyeongyeop Han, Chansong Lee, Jihyo Park & Bongsu Jung

  2. Medical Device Development Center, KBIO HEALTH OSONG Medical Innovation Foundation, 123, Osongsaengmyeong-ro, Cheongju-si, 28160, Republic of Korea

    Minseong Kim

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  1. Minseong Kim
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This study was approved by the institutional review board (IRB) of the Daegu-Gyeongbuk Medical Innovation Foundation (IRB No. DGMIF-20200108-HR-001-03). There were no animal experiments carried out for this article.

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Kim, M., Yeo, M., Lee, K. et al. Extraction and Characterization of Human Adipose Tissue-Derived Collagen: Toward Xeno-Free Tissue Engineering. Tissue Eng Regen Med 21, 97–109 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13770-023-00612-2

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