Abstract
Acellular extracellular matrix preparations are useful for studying cell-matrix interactions and facilitate regenerative cell therapy applications. Several commercial extracellular matrix products are available as hydrogels or membranes, but these do not possess tissue-specific biological activity. Because perfusion decellularization is usually not possible with human heart tissue, we developed a 3-step immersion decellularization process. Human myocardial slices procured during surgery are first treated with detergent-free hyperosmolar lysis buffer, followed by incubation with the ionic detergent, sodium dodecyl sulfate, and the process is completed by exploiting the intrinsic DNase activity of fetal bovine serum. This technique results in cell-free sheets of cardiac extracellular matrix with largely preserved fibrous tissue architecture and biopolymer composition, which were shown to provide specific environmental cues to cardiac cell populations and pluripotent stem cells. Cardiac extracellular matrix sheets can then be further processed into a microparticle powder without further chemical modification, or, via short-term pepsin digestion, into a self-assembling cardiac extracellular matrix hydrogel with preserved bioactivity.