LAUSR

Acellular cardiac patches made of various biomaterials have been shown to improve heart function after myocardial infarction (MI). Extracellular matrix (ECM) scaffold derived from decellularized tissue has unique advantages to serve as an acellular cardiac patch due to its biomimetic nature. In this study, we examined the therapeutic outcomes of using a decellularized Porcine Myocardium Slice (dPMS) as an acellular patch in a rat acute MI model. dPMS with two different thicknesses (300 µm and 600 µm) were patched to the infarcted area of the rat myocardium and their effects on cardiac function and host interactions were assessed. We found that the implanted dPMS firmly attached to host myocardium after implantation and prevented thinning of the left ventricular (LV) wall after an MI. A large number of host cells were identified to infiltrate into the implanted dPMS and a significant number of vessel structures were observed in the dPMS and infarcted area. We detected a significantly higher density of M2 macrophages in the groups treated with dPMSs as compared to the MI group. Contraction of the LV wall and cardiac functional parameters (Left ventricular ejection fraction and fractional shortening) were significantly improved in the treatment groups (300 µm and 600 µm dPMS) four weeks after surgery. Our results prove the therapeutic benefits of using dPMS as an acellular cardiac patch for the treatment of acute myocardial infarction.