Researchers have developed an optimized protocol for turning tendons from specific pathogen-free (SPF) Rongchang pigs into a decellularized extracellular matrix biomaterial, reporting that the resulting membrane is biocompatible in laboratory tests and shows no gross rejection when implanted under the skin.
Tendons are dense connective tissues that link bone to skeletal muscle. When their cells are removed, they leave behind a tendon-derived extracellular matrix, an increasingly used biomaterial for tendon repair. The new study, published in BMC Biotechnology, focused on making this process reliable and well characterized using SPF porcine donors.
The team quantified how effectively cells were stripped from the tissue using histological analysis and measurements of residual double-stranded DNA. They also compared the proteomic composition of the decellularized material across different anatomical regions and developmental stages, data the authors say can inform donor selection.
From the decellularized tendon, the researchers fabricated a decellularized tendon matrix membrane, or DTM. In vitro testing indicated the membrane does not cause severe erythrocyte hemolysis and shows no potential cytotoxicity.
Importantly, cells cultured with the material showed significant upregulation of the tendon-specific markers Scx and Tnmd, while the markers Col1α1 and Tnc remained unchanged. This pattern suggests the matrix can nudge cells toward a tendon-associated phenotype in culture, although these are early laboratory observations rather than evidence of repaired tendons.
To probe the material’s behavior in a living body, the team performed subcutaneous implantation and reported no gross rejection phenotype. The authors note this is an initial in vivo observation, not a demonstration of functional tendon repair.
The comparison of proteomic composition across regions and developmental stages adds a layer of characterization that could guide which donors and tissues are best suited for matrix production.
The study, whose accepted manuscript was shared early with a permanent DOI and is subject to further edits before the final version of record, establishes an optimized decellularization protocol and provides characterization data for porcine tendon dECM development. The authors position these findings as critical insights for the clinical translation of tendon repair strategies, while the reported results themselves remain at the protocol-optimization and biomaterial-characterization stage.
Subject of Research: Decellularized SPF porcine tendon biomaterials for tendon repair research
Article Title: Preparation and characterization of SPF porcine decellularized tendon biomaterials
Article References: Li, J., Chen, S., Tang, C., Fan, X., Wang, H., Du, L., Zhang, S., Li, X., Sun, J., Wu, M., Ge, L., Zhang, J., & Ma, J. (2026). Preparation and characterization of SPF porcine decellularized tendon biomaterials. BMC Biotechnology. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12896-026-01231-0
Image Credits: AI Generated
DOI: 10.1186/s12896-026-01231-0
Keywords: decellularized extracellular matrix, porcine tendon, biomaterials, tendon repair, SPF pigs, proteomics, biocompatibility, tissue engineering, BMC Biotechnology, Scx, Tnmd, Preparation
News Source: Gregory Coleman. (October 28, 2026). SPF Pig Tendons Turned Into Decellularized Biomaterial for Repair Research. Scienmag.
