The complexity and rapid clearance mechanisms of lung tissue make it difficult to develop effective treatments for many chronic pathologies. We are investigating lung derived extracellular matrix (ECM) hydrogels as a novel approach for delivery of cellular therapies to the pulmonary system. The main objectives of this study include: effective decellularization of porcine lung tissue, development of a hydrogel from the porcine ECM, and characterization of the material's composition, mechanical properties, and ability to support cellular growth. Our evaluation of the decellularized tissue indicated successful removal of cellular material and immunogenic remnants in the ECM. The self-assembly of the lung ECM hydrogel was rapid, reaching maximum modulus values within 3 minutes at 37°C. Rheological characterization showed the lung ECM hydrogel to have a concentration dependent storage modulus between 15-60 Pa. The purpose of this study was to evaluate our novel ECM derived hydrogel and measure its ability to support 3D culture of MSCs in vitro and in vivo delivery of MSCs. Our in vitro experiments using human mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) demonstrated our novel ECM hydrogel's ability to enhance cellular attachment and viability. Our in vivo experiments demonstrated that rat MSC delivery in pre-gel solution significantly increased cell retention in the lung over 24 hours in an emphysema rat model. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 4. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 09 June 2026.
All research outputs
#11,458,382
of 34,360,257 outputs
Outputs from Journal of Biomedical Materials Research, Part A
#1,287
of 3,337 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#120,700
of 340,066 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Journal of Biomedical Materials Research, Part A
#34
of 55 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 34,360,257 research outputs across all sources so far. This one has received more attention than most of these and is in the 65th percentile.
So far Altmetric has tracked 3,337 research outputs from this source. They receive a mean Attention Score of 4.7. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 60% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 340,066 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 62% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 55 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one is in the 38th percentile – i.e., 38% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.
