Allograft Pericardium Membrane; An Appropriate Candidate for Heart Surgeries
Allograft Pericardium Membrane; An Appropriate Candidate for Heart Surgeries
Mahsa Delyanee,1Sara Tabatabaee,2Reza Samanipour,3Amirhossein Tavakoli,4,*
1. Biomedical Engineering Department, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran 2. Bio-Computing Department, Interdisciplinary Sciences and Technologies Faculty, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran 3. Research and Development Department, Iranian Tissue Product Company, Tehran, Iran 4. Iranian Tissue Bank & Research Center, Gene, Cell, and Tissue Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Introduction: Regenerative medicine is an emerging interdisciplinary field of research and clinical application, focusing on the repair, replacement, or regeneration of cells, tissue, or organs. Patches prepared from autologous, allogeneic, or xenogeneic tissues are widely used to repair heart defects. An allogenic extracellular matrix (ECM) is the ideal graft to minimize immunogenicity after recipient implantation. Nevertheless, decellularization of allogenic tissues aims at reducing the immunogenic reaction that might trigger inflammation and tissue calcification over time, as reported for allogenic cardiac tissues. In this project, an allograft pericardium membrane fabricated by the Iranian Tissue Product (ITP) company was evaluated in case of its structure and decellularization. It was assumed that the pericardium membrane would present appropriate structural characteristics. Also, the membranes would not be expected to cause any immune reactions.
Methods: After completion of donor screening, the pericardium tissue was dissected to remove any additional tissue such as fat. Then, it was decellularized using H2O2 and segmented into certain dimensions. Finally, the samples were lyophilized by freeze-dryer and gamma irradiated with the dose of 25 kGy. A scanning electron microscope (SEM) has been used to evaluate the microstructure of the allograft. Also, to examine its biocompatibility, the cell viability after 72 hours was investigated through 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. To validate the decellularization process, hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) colorimetric staining was used.
Results: According to the obtained results, the porous structure of the graft was preserved after the procedure, and due to the interconnectivity of the pores, the prepared pericardium membrane may provide a favorable microenvironment for the initiation of cellular activities (such as migration, growth, proliferation, and differentiation) and eventually, regeneration of the damaged area. The output of the MTT assay also indicated the survival of more than 80% of the cells and demonstrated the lack of toxicity within the structure. Prior to decellularization, numerous thick bundles of mature collagen fibers admixed with several fibroblasts and fibrocytes are obvious in the tissue. In the decellularized tissue, some bundles of collagen fibers admixed with some scattered fibroblasts and fibrocytes can be observed. Therefore, the acceptable decellularization of the pericardium tissue without destructive impact on its native structure was validated.
Conclusion: Regarding the notable results of the structural and biological characteristics of the decellularized product, it can be claimed that the prepared allograft pericardium is a desirable candidate for repairing the defects in the heart with minimum risks of immunogenicity.