Open Access

Johannes Hackethal, Peter Dungel, Andreas Herbert Teuschl

• The natural extracellular matrix (ECM) provides the optimal environment for cells. Many enzymatic or non-enzymatic based strategies to extract ECM proteins from tissues were published over the past years. However, every single isolation strategy reported so far is associated with specific bottlenecks. In this study, frequently used strategies to isolate ECM from human placenta or adipose tissue using Tris-, serum-, or pepsin-based buffers were compared. The resulting ECM proteins were biochemically characterized by analysis of cellular remnants using Hoechst DNA staining, glycosaminoglycan (GAG) content by dimethylmethylene blue, visualization of protein bands using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis combined with amino acid quantification, and assessment of the proangiogenic profile using an angiogenesis array. Tris-NaCl-extracted ECM proteins showed a high heterogenic degree of extracted proteins, bioactive growth factors, and GAGs, but no collagen-I. Active serum-extracted ECM showed significant lower DNA remnants when compared with the Tris-NaCl isolation strategy. Pepsin-extracted ECM was rich in collagen-I and low amounts of remaining bioactive growth factors. This strategy was most effective to reduce DNA amounts when compared with the other isolation strategies. Pepsin-extracted ECM from both tissues easily gelled at 37°C, whereas the other extracted ECM strategies did not gel at 37°C (Tris-NaCl: liquid; serum: sponge). All relevant characteristics (DNA residues, ECM diversity and bioactivity, shape) of the extracted ECM proteins highly depend on its isolation strategy and could still be optimized. Impact statement The natural human extracellular matrix (ECM) is the ideal cell niche. Various strategies were reported to isolate human ECM components from various sources. In this article, we compared frequently used methods and compared their characteristics (DNA remnants, glycosaminoglycan content, sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis, amino acid quantification, angiogenesis array, and gel formation). We conclude that more research is still necessary to optimize current isolation approaches for in vitro or in vivo applications of human ECM.