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Updated: Nov 10, 2025
Processing of Human Cardiac Tissue Toward Extracellular Matrix Self-assembling Hydrogel for In Vitro and In Vivo Applications
Published on: December 4, 2017
In vitro comparison of harvesting site effects on cardiac extracellular matrix hydrogels
Emily Mulvany1, Sara McMahan2, Jiazhu Xu2
1Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Akron, Ohio, USA.
Insights
Cardiac extracellular matrix (cECM) hydrogels from whole hearts offer a promising, cost-effective alternative for myocardial infarction treatment. Harvesting from whole porcine hearts increases yield and reduces production costs without compromising material properties or cell viability.
Area of Science:
- Biomaterials Science
- Regenerative Medicine
- Cardiovascular Research
Background:
- Cardiac extracellular matrix (cECM) hydrogels are explored for myocardial infarction (MI) treatment.
- Porcine left ventricle (LV) is a common source, but regional differences are unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare in vitro properties of cECM hydrogels derived from porcine whole heart (WH), LV, and right ventricle (RV).
- To assess the impact of tissue origin on cECM hydrogel characteristics and cell response.
Main Methods:
- In vitro characterization of cECM hydrogels from WH, LV, and RV.
- Analysis of chemical composition, microstructure, gelation time, and mechanical properties (storage modulus G', complex modulus G*).
- Assessment of human cardiomyocyte and mesenchymal stem cell viability on different cECM hydrogels.
Main Results:
- WH, LV, and RV cECM hydrogels showed similar chemical composition, microstructure, and gelation times.
- Mechanical properties were comparable, though WH-derived hydrogels exhibited greater variation in G' and G*.
- High cell viability for both cell types was observed across all hydrogel types, with no significant differences.
Conclusions:
- Porcine whole heart, LV, and RV cECM hydrogels demonstrate comparable material properties and in vitro cell responses.
- Utilizing whole porcine hearts for cECM hydrogel fabrication can increase yield, reduce costs, and shorten production time.
Abstract:
Cardiac extracellular matrix (cECM) derived hydrogel has been investigated to treat myocardial infarction through animal studies and clinical trials. The tissue harvesting site commonly selects porcine left ventricle (LV) because heart attack majorly takes place in LV. However, little is known about whether the region of cardiac tissue harvesting is critical for downstream applications. In this work, in vitro studies to compare cECM hydrogels derived from adult porcine whole heart (WH), LV, and right ventricle (RV) were performed. The cECM from WH has similar chemical composition compared with cECM from LV and RV. All three types of cECM hydrogels share many similarities in terms of their microstructure, gelation time, and mechanical properties. WH-derived cECM hydrogels have larger variations in storage modulus (G') and complex modulus (G*) compared with the other two types of cECM hydrogels. Both human cardiomyocytes and mesenchymal stem cells could maintain high cell viability on all hydrogels without significant difference. In terms of above results, the cECM hydrogels from WH, LV and RV exhibited similarity in material properties and cell response in vitro. Thus, future fabrication of cECM hydrogels from WH would increase the yield, which would decrease processing time and production cost.
