A bioartificial rat heart tissue: Perfusion decellularization and characterization

Abstract

Despite remarkable advancement in the past decades, heart-related defects are still prone to progress irreversibly and can eventually lead to heart failure. A personalized extracellular matrix–based bioartificial heart created by allografts/xenografts emerges as an alternative as it can retain the original three-dimensional architecture combined with a preserved natural heart extracellular matrix. This study aimed at developing a procedure for decellularizing heart tissue harvested from rats and evaluating decellularization efficiency in terms of residual nuclear content and structural properties. Tissue sections showed no or little visible cell nuclei in decellularized heart, whereas the native heart showed dense cellularity. In addition, there was no significant variation in the alignment of muscle fibers upon decellularization. Furthermore, no significant difference was detected between native and decellularized hearts in terms of fiber diameter. Our findings demonstrate that fiber alignment and diameter can serve as additional parameters in the characterization of biological heart scaffolds as these provide valuable input for evaluating structural preservation of decellularized heart. The bioartificial scaffold formed here can be functionalized with patient’s own material and utilized in regenerative engineering.

Fullerenol inhibits tendinopathy by alleviating inflammation

“…Briefly, after fixation, embedding and section, Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) and Masson tri-chrome staining were performed. The method of evaluating fiber alignment was described in the previous studies ( Adeoye et al, 2022 ) ( Ozlu et al, 2019 ) ( Erisken et al, 2013 ). For immunohistochemical staining, we incubated sections overnight with different antibodies (COL I, COX-2, IL-6; Servicebio; China).…”

Research progress in decellularized extracellular matrix hydrogels for intervertebral disc degeneration

“…Currently, many research theories about animal tissues or organs used as dECM have been established, but most focus on porcine SIS, bladder, heart, fat, nucleus pulposus and peritoneum, [85][86][87][88] bovine heart, 89,90 goat liver, 91,92 rat liver and heart. 93,94 However, heterologous dECM may be associated with a risk of viral infection, 95 and the composition, mechanical properties, and degradability of heterologous dECM may differ from those of human organs and tissues. 96 Humanderived dECM remains the preferred biomedical material to avoid viral contamination and immunogenic reactions, 97 but this type of dECM is limited in its application due to the scarcity of organs and tissues of human origin.…”

Application of decellularization-recellularization technique in plastic and reconstructive surgery

“…[19] At present, the commonly used techniques for decellularization mainly include perfusion, high hydrostatic pressure, freeze-thaw, supercritical fluid, immersion, and agitation. [20][21][22][23][24] Each decellularization technique has its own advantages and disadvantages, while in general, perfusion decellularization appears to be the most effective and convenient method for constructing ECM, maintaining the natural composition and ultrastructure of the original organ and tissue [Table 1].…”