Trout Kidney Extracellular Matrix as a Noncytotoxic Scaffold for Promoting Mesenchymal Stem Cell Growth and Specialization

The decellularization of fish renal ECM was successfully achieved. Quantitative and qualitative analyses confirmed a significant reduction in DNA content in the decellularized tissue compared to native samples, indicating effective removal of cellular material. At the same time, key ECM components such as collagen and sulfated glycosaminoglycans (sGAGs) were preserved to a substantial extent. Specifically, collagen content decreased from 5.736 μg/mg in native tissue to 4.284 μg/mg in the decellularized ECM, while sGAG content showed a slight decrease from 0.9855 μg/mg to 0.9400 μg/mg, reflecting minimal degradation during processing. Cytotoxicity assessment revealed no toxic effects associated with the decellularized matrices. Furthermore, a significant increase in the proliferation of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) was observed on day 7 compared to the uncoated control group, suggesting the bioactivity and compatibility of the decellularized trout kidney ECM.