Development of Bi-layer Engineered Cardiac Tissues Containing Cardiomyocytes and Microvessels

Abstract

The prevalence of coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction coupled with the limited availability of donor hearts to replace damaged tissue leaves many patients with insufficient treatment. Cardiac tissue engineering has emerged to attempt to fill this need, but engineered cardiac tissues are limited in size by a lack of vascularization. In this work, we aim to create a vascularized cardiac tissue through the combination of an established microvessel construct with a cardiomyocyte construct, and we investigate its use in a nude rat model of myocardial infarction. The results detailed in this dissertation indicate that the bi-layer construct not only improves contractile function of the cardiomyocytes, but also that the human microvessels can sprout into the cardiomyocyte layer and become perfused when implanted in vivo.