title: Establishment of vessel-like structures in long-term three-dimensional tissue culture of myocardium: an electron microscopy study.
abstract: To assess whether long-term three-dimensional (3D) tissue culture of myocardium enables the in vitro establishment of vessel-like structures, myocardial tissue from newborn mice was incubated under conditions of 3D culture for at least 3 weeks, and studied by phase-contrast microscopy, conventional histology, immunohistochemistry, and electron microscopy. During 3 weeks of culture, a mean 24.35 +/- 3.74% of all aggregates contracted spontaneously. The contracting aggregates displayed a tissue-like architecture with small basal and apical zones, and a large central zone. The basal and apical zone consisted of immature mesenchymal cells. The underlying shell of the aggregate contained many cardiomyocytes. Vessel-like structures were found concentrated within the aggregates. Immunohistochemistry showed that up to 15% of the cells in the central zone of the aggregate were positive for the endothelial-specific BS-I lectin. Vessel-like structures were formed by cells, which often showed intracytoplasmatic lumena. Surrounding the neocapillaries, structures of a rudimentary basal membrane could be detected. A 3D culture of myocardial tissue permits the establishment of a rudimentary capillary network within the tissue aggregates, which presumably guarantees a sufficient tissue perfusion up to a maximum aggregate diameter of approximately 900 microm.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Vienna General Hospital, Vienna, Austria. watzka@tin.it
authors.forename: Stefan B C
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Watzka
authors.forename: Marianne
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Steiner
authors.forename: Puchit
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Samorapoompichit
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gross
authors.forename: John G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Coles
authors.forename: Ernst
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Wolner
authors.forename: Günter
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Weigel
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001705:Bioprosthesis; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D006354:Heart, Artificial; D037102:Lectins / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008833:Microcirculation / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D032383:Myocytes, Cardiac / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D018919:Neovascularization, Physiologic / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D037102:Lectins