ECM roles and biomechanics in cardiac tissue decellularization.

Natural biomaterials hold enormous potential for tissue regeneration. The rapid advance of several tissue-engineered biomaterials, such as natural and synthetic polymer-based scaffolds, has led to widespread application of these materials in the clinic and in research. However, biomaterials can have limited repair capacity; obstacles result from immunogenicity, difficulties in mimicking native microenvironments, and maintaining the mechanical and biochemical (i.

Novel Techniques Targeting Fibroblasts after Ischemic Heart Injury.

The great plasticity of cardiac fibroblasts allows them to respond quickly to myocardial injury and to contribute to the subsequent cardiac remodeling. Being the most abundant cell type (in numbers) in the heart, and a key participant in the several phases of tissue healing, the cardiac fibroblast is an excellent target for treating cardiac diseases. The development of cardiac fibroblast-specific approaches have, however, been difficult due to the lack of cellular specific markers.