Tissue-engineered, hydrogel-based endothelial progenitor cell therapy robustly revascularizes ischemic myocardium and preserves ventricular function Pavan Atluri, MD, Jordan S. Miller, PhD, Robert J. Emery, MS, George Hung, BA, Alen Trubelja, BS, Jeffrey E. Cohen, MD, Kelsey Lloyd, BS, Jason Han, BS, Ann C. Gaffey, MD, John W. MacArthur, MD, Christopher S. Chen, MD, PhD, Y. Joseph Woo, MD The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery Volume 148, Issue 3, Pages 1090-1098 (September 2014) DOI: 10.1016/j.jtcvs.2014.06.038 Copyright © 2014 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery Terms and Conditions
Figure 1 EPCs demonstrate characteristic spreading, in vitro, within the EPC fibrin hydrogel construct 2 days after construct (10 mg/mL fibrin, 17 × 106 EPCs/mL) creation (eGFP+ EPCs, confocal microscopy, 20× magnification). The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery 2014 148, 1090-1098DOI: (10.1016/j.jtcvs.2014.06.038) Copyright © 2014 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery Terms and Conditions
Figure 2 Immunofluorescent imaging of eGFP+ transgenic EPCs migration from the EPC-fibrin construct to the myocardium. Sections were triple stained for nuclei (DAPI, blue), eGFP (green), and α-SMA (red) (20× magnification, scale bar = 75 μm). DAPI, 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole; eGFP, enhanced green fluorescent protein; SMA, smooth muscle actin; IC, injection of EPCs. The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery 2014 148, 1090-1098DOI: (10.1016/j.jtcvs.2014.06.038) Copyright © 2014 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery Terms and Conditions
Figure 3 Quantification of myocardial neovasculogenesis within the ischemic peri-infarct myocardium. EPC, Endothelial progenitor cell; hpf, high power field; IC, injection of EPCs; FIB, fibrin patch without cells. The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery 2014 148, 1090-1098DOI: (10.1016/j.jtcvs.2014.06.038) Copyright © 2014 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery Terms and Conditions
Figure 4 Representative immunofluorescent images demonstrating vascular density in peri-infarct ischemic myocardium after therapy (20× magnification; green = von Willebrand factor, blue = DAPI, red = αSMA). EPC, Endothelial progenitor cell; IC, injection of EPCs; FIB, fibrin patch without cells. The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery 2014 148, 1090-1098DOI: (10.1016/j.jtcvs.2014.06.038) Copyright © 2014 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery Terms and Conditions
Figure 5 Representative myocardial cross-sectional images after Masson's trichrome staining to delineate myocardial scar (scar = blue, myocardium = red). EPC, Endothelial progenitor cell; IC, injection of EPCs; FIB, fibrin patch without cells. The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery 2014 148, 1090-1098DOI: (10.1016/j.jtcvs.2014.06.038) Copyright © 2014 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery Terms and Conditions