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Updated: May 2, 2026
Procedure for Decellularization of Porcine Heart by Retrograde Coronary Perfusion
Published on: December 6, 2012
Optimizing recellularization of whole decellularized heart extracellular matrix
Matthew J Robertson1, Jessica L Dries-Devlin2, Stefan M Kren3
1Center for Cardiovascular Repair, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States of America ; Department of Molecular Cardiology, Texas Heart Institute, Houston, Texas, United States of America.
Re-endothelializing decellularized heart scaffolds with rat aortic endothelial cells (RAECs) via combined venous and arterial delivery reduces clotting and improves engineered heart contractility. This creates superior vascularized scaffolds for whole-organ recellularization.
Area of Science:
- Biomaterials Science
- Tissue Engineering
- Regenerative Medicine
Background:
- Perfusion decellularization creates cell-free extracellular matrix scaffolds from cadaveric hearts, theoretically supporting tissue-engineered constructs.
- Acellular vascular conduits in these scaffolds clot post-transplantation, even with anticoagulation.
- This study aimed to reduce scaffold thrombogenicity and enhance recellularized left ventricular contractility.
Purpose of the Study:
- To create a less thrombogenic scaffold for tissue-engineered heart constructs.
- To improve the contractility of recellularized left ventricular tissue.
- To achieve whole-heart re-endothelialization using rat aortic endothelial cells (RAECs).
Main Methods:
- Three RAEC delivery strategies were tested: retrograde aortic infusion, brachiocephalic artery (BA) infusion, and a combination of inferior vena cava (IVC) plus BA infusion.
- Re-endothelialized scaffolds were cultured under vascular flow for 7 days.
- Scaffold cellularity, endothelial phenotype, thrombogenicity (in vitro and in vivo), and construct contractility were assessed.
Main Results:
- Combined IVC+BA delivery resulted in whole-heart RAEC distribution, proliferation, and retention of endothelial phenotype.
- This strategy significantly increased scaffold cellularity and vessel re-endothelialization compared to single-route methods.
- Re-endothelialization reduced scaffold thrombogenicity and enhanced left ventricular construct contractility.
Conclusions:
- This study demonstrates the first whole-heart re-endothelialization of both arterial and venous systems using combined delivery routes.
- The IVC+BA strategy enhances scaffold re-endothelialization, reduces thrombogenicity, and improves engineered tissue function.
- Vessel and cavity re-endothelialization yields superior vascularized scaffolds for whole-organ recellularization applications.
