At Animal Biotech Industries, we’re always excited to hear about new applications of porcine tissues in human medicine – such as a recent study published in Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, “Decellularization and Characterization of Porcine Pleura as Bioscaffolds in Tissue Engineering.”
In short, the article describes a novel new process for the decellularization of porcine pleura (respiratory tissue) to aid in pneumothorax treatment. While the study itself is only a foundation for future work, it points towards yet another way pig tissues may support biomedical innovation.
The Problem: Creating Better Tools for Pneumothorax Treatment Training
The inspiration for the study was the problem of repairing damage to human lungs following surgery or catastrophic accident. Because lung tissue is fragile, it’s easy for tears to develop, which leads to air leaking from the lungs into the sternum. This is called a pneumothorax, or – in more extreme cases – a collapsed lung.
According to the paper, current remedies for this can be needlessly disruptive, such as manual suturing of tears or keeping patients on breathing tubes for extended periods. However, if the air leaks go on for too long – known as Persistent Air Leak (PAL) – it becomes a comorbidity risk, introducing increased chances of infection or other complications.
The aim of the study was to attempt decellularization of porcine pleura tissue, to create an extracellular matrix (ECM) that can aid tissue regeneration and provide a model for surgical training or product testing. These ECMs are not intended for direct human implantation but are instead highly valuable in preclinical testing and educational use, such as validating surgical instruments and training new clinicians.
Using Extracellular Matrices in Research and Training
An ECM is a framework of tissue, originally harvested from a human or animal source like a pig, that has been stripped of its DNA-containing cells. This process reduces immune responses in the receiving environment and provides a scaffold on which tissue can regenerate.
ECMs allow for faster tissue regrowth than if the body had to fully regenerate tissue structure itself. While ECMs can be made from human tissue for allogenic transplants, that tissue is rare, and it is often impractical or unethical to use in early-stage experimental work.
So, the researchers turned to pig pleura, noting the well-known similarities between human and porcine bodies. Given that similar experiments have been conducted on other pig-to-human transplantable materials such as the bowels and bladder, could porcine lung tissue be a suitable basis for human lung ECMs?
The answer was yes!
Refining ECM Methodologies with Porcine Tissue
The paper contains detailed – and highly technical – discussions of how the porcine tissue was treated. In short, they utilized well-established methods for decellularizing the pleura material. The goal was to create a methodology which would be replicable for future researchers expanding on the work.
The result was a decellularized ECM that appeared structurally sound and potentially suitable for further study. As the study noted, “[T]he study lays the foundation for future work focusing on site-specific applications of decellularized pleura in air leak management.“
Importantly, the ECMs in this study were not tested in human subjects. Instead, the tissue was evaluated in vitro to verify its viability as a test model or scaffold.
If this method proves workable, it could provide new ways to simulate lung repair scenarios for educational and preclinical purposes. The use of porcine tissue makes sense because it is more readily available than human tissue and avoids many of the ethical concerns associated with human donors.
Ethical and High-Quality Porcine Tissue Sourcing Matters
That said, one point in the study deserves clarification. The researchers sourced their porcine pleura from a local slaughterhouse, which is understandable for a one-time study. However, for consistent, high-quality results—especially when building models for medical research or training—it’s essential to work with experienced tissue suppliers like Animal Biotech Industries.
At ABI, we harvest post-mortem porcine tissues from our abattoir partner specifically because the animals are already being used for food production. This ensures that no animal is euthanized solely for tissue collection, which aligns with ABI’s ethical research standards and supports full utilization of the animal. Our clients appreciate knowing that the tissues they use are part of a process that minimizes waste and maximizes purpose.
More importantly, our highly trained staff specializes in proper tissue harvesting techniques. Abattoirs are strictly focused on food production. ABI is the biomedical counterpart that steps in to properly harvest tissue for research by demonstrating the anatomical precision to properly harvest their tissues by ensuring that every tissue is collected, preserved, and shipped according to protocols developed specifically for research and education.
ABI is proud to be a partner of numerous labs and research groups, providing top-quality porcine tissue at reasonable prices. We also ship all our materials in eco-friendly packaging, which is both biodegradable and reusable, and offer a wide variety of shipping options. ABI ships its tissue orders to arrive the next day and can offer same day deliveries depending on the geographic location of the client.
Whatever porcine tissues you need for your research or educational project, ABI is here to provide. Click here to see our full porcine tissue catalog, or contact us directly if you have any questions.
