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Encapsulation of Cardiomyocytes in a Fibrin Hydrogel for Cardiac Tissue Engineering
Published on: September 19, 2011
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Decellularized muscle-derived hydrogels support in vitro cardiac microtissue fabrication
Sarah Rajabi1, Nasser Aghdami2, Fahimeh Varzideh3
1Department of Cell Engineering, Cell Science Research Center, Royan Institute for Stem, Cell Biology and Technology, ACECR, Tehran, Iran.
Summary
Decellularized extracellular matrix (ECM) from various tissues supports cardiovascular cell development in vitro. Cardiac muscle ECM most effectively promotes cardiac progenitor cell differentiation into cardiomyocytes.
Area of Science:
- Biomaterials Science
- Cardiovascular Research
- Stem Cell Biology
Background:
- In vitro models of cardiac tissue are crucial for cardiovascular research.
- Extracellular matrix (ECM) and cardiac cells are key components mimicking myocardial structure and function.
- Decellularized ECM (D-ECM) offers a promising scaffold for tissue engineering.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the biocompatibility and differentiation potential of D-ECM from various sources (cardiac muscle, skeletal muscle, aorta, liver, small intestine submucosa, umbilical cord).
- To evaluate the capacity of D-ECM to support the differentiation of human embryonic stem cell-derived cardiac progenitor cells (hESC-derived CPCs) into cardiovascular lineage cells.
Main Methods:
- Decellularization of various tissues to obtain D-ECM hydrogels.
- Histological studies and immunostaining to confirm ECM component preservation (laminin, fibronectin).
- In vitro culture of hESC-derived CPCs and human umbilical vein endothelial cells within D-ECM hydrogels, assessing cytotoxicity and gene expression (cTNT, αMHC, CD31, PDGFRα).
Main Results:
- All tested D-ECM hydrogels were non-cytotoxic to cultured cells after 10 days.
- D-ECM from cardiac muscle (D-CM), skeletal muscle (D-SM), liver (D-Liv), and small intestine submucosa (D-SIS) supported cardiogenic differentiation, evidenced by upregulated cardiac markers (cTNT, αMHC) and cTNT+ cardiomyocytes.
- D-CM demonstrated superior expression of cardiac markers compared to other D-ECM types.
- D-ECM from aorta (D-Ao) and umbilical cord (D-hUC) promoted vascular lineage cell differentiation, indicated by upregulated endothelial and smooth muscle markers (CD31, PDGFRα).
Conclusions:
- Decellularized extracellular matrix from diverse tissue origins exhibits varying biocompatibility and differentiation support for cardiovascular cells.
- Muscle-derived D-ECM is effective for promoting cardiogenic differentiation.
- Vascular-derived D-ECM supports endothelial and smooth muscle cell differentiation.
- Combining muscle-derived and vascular-derived D-ECM may be essential for creating in vitro vascularized human cardiac microtissues.
