ABSTRACT
ObjectiveTo evaluate the feasibility of constructing tissue engineering cardiac patch with photooxidationfixed acellular bovine pericardium.MethodsFresh bovine pericardia were treated by dye-mediated photooxidation after decellularization.Some of them were seeded with bone marrow stromal cells(MSCs) isolated from male SD rats to construct cardiac patches.Myocardial infarction(MI) model was made in female SD rats by left anterior descending coronary ligation(LAD).One week later, the confirmed MI rats were divided into three groups randomly, group MI (n = 15)without any treatment; group P (n = 18) with photooxidated pericardia implantation ; group P + C (n = 18) with seeded pericardia implantation.A sham group (n = 10) was also performed with opening and closing chest twice only.The heart were explanted at 2 or 4 weeks after implantation, and examined histologically and immunohistochemically.The heart function was evaluated by echocardiography at 4 weeks before excising the rats.ResultsThere were no cells or cell debris remained in bovine pericardium tissue.The fiber structure became condensed after photooxidation.The seeded cells formed a continuous layer on the surface of the tissue.The pericardial degradation level and newly formed microvessel density were larger in group P + C than in group P after 2 [ (13.7 ±5.2)个/mm2 vs (7.1 ±3.1)个/mm2, P＜0.05]and4 [(22.6 ±4.9)个/mrn2 vs (14.1 ±5.3)个/mm2, P＜0.05]weeks.Four weeks after transplantation, cardiac echocardiography showed left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF) was lower in group MI (44.8 ± 4.4) ％ and group P (48.4 ± 5.0) ％ compared with group P + C (49.3 ± 4.8) ％, left ventricular fractional shorterning(LVFS) was lower in group MI (18.0 ± 2.2) ％ and group P (19.8 ± 2.5) ％ compared with group P + C (20.4 ±2.5) ％, the difference between P + C and MI was significant.ConclusionTransplantation of the tissue engineered bovine pericardial patches with dye-mediated photooxidation can improve heart function in MI rats.This kind of patches demonstrates a promising prospect in the future.