Fabrication of Biologically Derived Injectable Materials for Myocardial Tissue Engineering

Summary

Methods for preparing an injectable matrix gel from decellularized tissue and injecting it into rat myocardium in vivo are described.

Abstract

This protocol provides methods for the preparation of an injectable extracellular matrix (ECM) gel for myocardial tissue engineering applications. Briefly, decellularized tissue is lyophilized, milled, enzymatically digested, and then brought to physiological pH. The lyophilization removes all water content from the tissue, resulting in dry ECM that can be ground into a fine powder with a small mill. After milling, the ECM powder is digested with pepsin to form an injectable matrix. After adjustment to pH 7.4, the liquid matrix material can be injected into the myocardium. Results of previous characterization assays have shown that matrix gels produced from decellularized pericardial and myocardial tissue retain native ECM components, including diverse proteins, peptides and glycosaminoglycans. Given the use of this material for tissue engineering, in vivo characterization is especially useful; here, a method for performing an intramural injection into the left ventricular (LV) free wall is presented as a means of analyzing the host response to the matrix gel in a small animal model. Access to the chest cavity is gained through the diaphragm and the injection is made slightly above the apex in the LV free wall. The biologically derived scaffold can be visualized by biotin-labeling before injection and then staining tissue sections with a horse radish peroxidase-conjugated neutravidin and visualizing via diaminobenzidine (DAB) staining. Analysis of the injection region can also be done with histological and immunohistochemical staining. In this way, the previously examined pericardial and myocardial matrix gels were shown to form fibrous, porous networks and promote vessel formation within the injection region.

Protocol

1. Pre-processing Tissue Preparation

1. Before using this protocol, one must have already decellularized the tissue of choice. For this example, fresh porcine and human pericardium samples are decellularized using hypotonic and hypertonic rinses in deionized (DI) water and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS).
2. Specifically, first wash the porcine pericardium in DI water for 30 minutes, then stir continuously in 1% SDS in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) for 24 hours, followed by a 5 hour DI water rinse. For human pericardia, first rinse in DI water for 30 minutes, then stir continuously in 1% SDS in PBS for 60-65 hours, followed by an over....

Discussion

This method allows for the generation of biologically derived, injectable scaffolds for myocardial tissue engineering. Although these methods were initially developed for the fabrication and in vivo testing of a myocardial matrix gel and presented here with a pericardial matrix gel, this protocol can be adapted for use with any tissue, provided the tissue can be appropriately decellularized. Decellularization should be performed and verified prior to the use of these methods, as the presence of DNA in the matr.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Reagents:
Pepsin	Sigma-Aldrich	p6887-1G	Lyophilized
Biotin	Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.	21217
Neutravidin-HRP	Thomas Scientific	21130
Equipment:
Wiley Mini Mill	Thomas Scientific	3383L10
Labconco Lyophilizer	Labconco Corp.	7670520
Surgical supplies:
Betadine	Purdue Products L.P.	67618-154-16
Lactated Ringers Solution	MWI Veterinary Supply	003966
KY Jelly	MWI Veterinary Supply	28658
Lidocaine, 2%	MWI Veterinary Supply	17767
Buprenorphine hydrochloride	Reckitt Benckiser	12496-0757-1
Artificial tear ointment	Fisher Scientific	NC9860843
Triple antibiotic ointment	Fisher Scientific	19082795
Isoflurane	MWI Veterinary Supply	60307-120-25
Otoscope	MWI Veterinary Supply	008699
Stop cock	MWI Veterinary Supply	006245
3-0 Vicrile suture	MWI Veterinary Supply	J327H
5-0 Proline suture	MWI Veterinary Supply	s-1173
Reverse cutting (RC) needle	Ethicon Inc.	8684G
Microhemostats	Fine Science Tools	13013-14
Rat tooth microforceps	Fine Science Tools	11084-07
No. 10 scalpel	Fine Science Tools	10110-01
Blunt scissors	Fine Science Tools	14108-09
Sharp, curved scissors	Fine Science Tools	14085-08
Large, serrated forceps	Fine Science Tools	1106-12
PE160 suction tubing	BD Biosciences	427430
Clippers	MWI Veterinary Supply	21608
Skin staples/stapler	Ethicon Inc.	PRR35
General supplies:
Stir plates
0.1 M HCl
1 M NaOH
10x PBS
1x PBS
70% Ethanol
0.1 mL syringes
10 mL syringe
Q-tips
Surgical glue
Surgical drape
Towel clamps
Small hand-held vacuum