Background: Extracellular matrix (ECM) functions as a scaffold for tissue morphogenesis and regeneration, promotes the maintenance of differentiated tissue and plays an extremely indispensable role in cell proliferation and differentiation. As a corollary of this importance, studying the cell behaviors without considering the ECM is to some extent impossible. Deletion of cells from ECM obtains natural three dimensional matrices that ape the in vivo functions of ECM.

Objectives: The current study aimed to verify whether acellular dermal matrix (ADM) is a suitable 3D-matrix for blastema tissue cells originated from pinna of rabbit and study different behaviors of these cells on ADM.

Materials and Methods: To prepare ADM, small pieces of skin were decellularized by repeated snap freeze-thaw and treatment with sodium dodecyl sulfate as a detergent. Decellularization was verified and proved by histological tests. Blastema rings were prepared by double punching the pinnas of male New Zealand White rabbits and cultured in vitro after assembling with ADM. Specimens were studied after 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 days of culturing.

Results: Migration of cells started on the fifth day. As a result of this migration, most cells were located on the surface of the scaffold and formed epiderm-like structure and some penetrated into the scaffold. By day 25, cells which had penetrated into the scaffold had various destinies such as becoming elongated spindle-shaped cells and creating blood vessel-like structures.

Conclusions: ADM can induce migration and probably differentiation of blastema tissue cells; therefore, it is a suitable 3D-model to study cell behaviors in vitro.