Cardiac extracellular matrix

Class

Injectable decellularized ECM hydrogel scaffold

The cardiac extracellular matrix (ECM) is the non-cellular scaffold of proteins, glycoproteins, and proteoglycans (such as collagen, laminin, and fibronectin) that surrounds heart muscle cells, giving tissue its structure and transmitting mechanical and biochemical signals that influence how cells behave. After a myocardial infarction, heart muscle cells die, the native ECM in that region degrades, and the body replaces it with a stiff, relatively inert fibrotic scar. This scar does not contract, and the surrounding heart wall can progressively stretch and thin, a process called adverse remodeling that eventually contributes to heart failure. One therapeutic strategy is to deliver a hydrogel made from decellularized ECM, tissue from which cells and most immunogenic material have been removed while preserving structural and signaling proteins, directly into the injured region. The injected material reforms into a soft scaffold at body temperature and provides a biochemical and mechanical environment that can support tissue organization, attract reparative cells to the area, and encourage new blood vessel formation. This mechanism is broadly relevant to conditions where an organ has lost structural matrix after injury, with heart failure following infarction being the most studied application.