Background-The myocardium is unable to regenerate because cardiomyocytes cannot replicate after injury. The heart is therefore an attractive target for tissue engineering to replace infarcted myocardium and enhance cardiac function. We tested the feasibility of bioengineering cardiac tissue within novel 3-dimensional (3D) scaffolds. Methods and Results-We isolated and grew fetal cardiac cells within 3D porous alginate scaffolds. The cell constructs were cultured for 4 days to evaluate viability and morphology before implantation. Light microscopy revealed that within 2 to 3 days in culture, the dissociated cardiac cells form distinctive, multicellular contracting aggregates within the scaffold pores. Seven days after myocardial infarction, rats were randomized to biograft implantation (nϭ6) or sham-operation (nϭ6) into the myocardial scar. Echocardiography study was performed before and 65Ϯ5 days after implantation to assess left ventricular (LV) remodeling and function. Hearts were harvested 9 weeks after implantation. Visual examination of the biograft revealed intensive neovascularization from the neighboring coronary network. Histological examination revealed the presence of myofibers embedded in collagen fibers and a large number of blood vessels. The specimens showed almost complete disappearance of the scaffold and good integration into the host. Although control animals developed significant LV dilatation accompanied by progressive deterioration in LV contractility, in the biograft-treated rats, attenuation of LV dilatation and no change in LV contractility were observed. Conclusions-Alginate scaffolds provide a conducive environment to facilitate the 3D culturing of cardiac cells. After implantation into the infarcted myocardium, the biografts stimulated intense neovascularization and attenuated LV dilatation and failure in experimental rats compared with controls. This strategy can be used for regeneration and healing of the infarcted myocardium. (Circulation. 2000;102[suppl III]III-56-III-61.)

No abstract

A potential approach to facilitate the performance of implanted hepatocytes is to enable their aggregation and re‐expression of their differentiated function prior to implantation. Here we examined the behavior of freshly isolated rat adult hepatocytes seeded within a novel three‐dimensional (3‐D) scaffold based on alginate. The attractive features of this scaffold include a highly porous structure (sponge‐like) with interconnecting pores, and pore sizes with diameters of 100–150 μm. Due to their hydrophilic nature, seeding hepatocytes onto the alginate sponges was efficient. DNA measurements showed that the total cell number within the sponges did not change over 2 weeks, indicating that hepatocytes do not proliferate under these culture conditions. Nearly all seeded cells maintained viability, according to the MTT assay. Within 24 h post‐seeding, small clusters of viable cells, were seen scattered within the sponge. More than 90% of the seeded cells participated in the aggregation; the high efficiency is attributed to the non‐adherent nature of alginate. The spheroids had smooth boundaries and by day 4 in culture reached an average diameter of 100 μm, which is at the same magnitude of the sponge pore size. The cells appeared to synthesize fibronectin which was deposited on the spheroids. No laminin or collagen type IV were detected in the deposit. The 3‐D arrangement of hepatocytes within the alginate sponges promoted their functional expression; within a week the cells secreted the maximal albumin secretion rate of 60 μg albumin/106 cells/day. Urea secretion rate did not depend on cell aggregation and was similar to that obtained when hepatocytes were cultured on collagen type I coated dishes (100 μg/106 cells/day). Our studies show that alginate sponges can provide a conducive environment to facilitate the performance of cultured hepatocytes by enhancing their aggregation. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng 67: 344–353, 2000.

Background —The myocardium is unable to regenerate because cardiomyocytes cannot replicate after injury. The heart is therefore an attractive target for tissue engineering to replace infarcted myocardium and enhance cardiac function. We tested the feasibility of bioengineering cardiac tissue within novel 3-dimensional (3D) scaffolds. Methods and Results —We isolated and grew fetal cardiac cells within 3D porous alginate scaffolds. The cell constructs were cultured for 4 days to evaluate viability and morphology before implantation. Light microscopy revealed that within 2 to 3 days in culture, the dissociated cardiac cells form distinctive, multicellular contracting aggregates within the scaffold pores. Seven days after myocardial infarction, rats were randomized to biograft implantation (n=6) or sham-operation (n=6) into the myocardial scar. Echocardiography study was performed before and 65±5 days after implantation to assess left ventricular (LV) remodeling and function. Hearts were harvested 9 weeks after implantation. Visual examination of the biograft revealed intensive neovascularization from the neighboring coronary network. Histological examination revealed the presence of myofibers embedded in collagen fibers and a large number of blood vessels. The specimens showed almost complete disappearance of the scaffold and good integration into the host. Although control animals developed significant LV dilatation accompanied by progressive deterioration in LV contractility, in the biograft-treated rats, attenuation of LV dilatation and no change in LV contractility were observed. Conclusions —Alginate scaffolds provide a conducive environment to facilitate the 3D culturing of cardiac cells. After implantation into the infarcted myocardium, the biografts stimulated intense neovascularization and attenuated LV dilatation and failure in experimental rats compared with controls. This strategy can be used for regeneration and healing of the infarcted myocardium.