Tissue Preservation and Biobanking

Cardiac extracellular matrix (ECM) is a complex architecturally-organized mixture of proteins glycosamino-, andproteoglycans that contains an embedded vascular network. Furthermore, ECM binds growth factors that can drive vasculogenesis. In fact, during cardiac development, cell-matrix interactions give rise to regional cell fate specifications including atrial ventricular, pacemaker, vascular, and neural cells. We hypothesize that cardiac ECM plays a critical role in SC fate, location and function after myocardial injury. Using decellularized ECM from neonatal, adult and old animals, we tested

the hypothesis that ECM composition and architecture provides physical, mechanical and biochemical cues that direct stem

or progenitor cell fate – and show evidence that age, sex and disease state can alter those biologic cues and in turn alter cell

phenotype. Furthermore, by exploring the gene expression profiles of SCs in response to infarcted heart matrix vs collagen

type 1 or non-infarcted matrix, we have begun to define cues that may begin to explain clinical outcomes after cell therapy.

We have also transplanted repopulated and “naked” ECM in vivo either as a cardiac patch after infarction or as a whole heart

to investigate SC recruitment and differentiation in response to acellular or recellularized ECM. Finally, we are convinced that

creating and being able to manipulate the right environment can be more valuable than engineering cells. Our perfusion-based

method to remove cells from myocardium giving rise to decellularized ECM (dECM) with intact micro and macrostructure,

and a patent vascular tree has been proved to be the perfect environment for stem cells.