title: Transplantation of engineered heart tissue as a biological cardiac assist device for treatment of dilated cardiomyopathy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to characterize an alternative treatment for dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) using a novel cardiac biological assist device created from engineered heart tissue (EHT).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The EHTs were constructed in vitro from matrigel, collagen, and neonatal rat cardiomyocytes as small ring-like spontaneously contracting devices. DCM was induced in 50 rats by 6 weeks doxorubicin treatment (2.5 mg/kg/week). After 38 drug-free days, rats underwent either implantation of EHT (DCM-EHT, n = 13), which was sutured around the ventricles, or sham operation (DCM-Sham, n = 12). Eleven untreated healthy rats served as the control group. Rats were investigated using a Millar catheter for pressure-volume loop recording, and by echocardiography 30 days after operation. Thereafter, the hearts were excised and investigated functionally, histologically, and biochemically. Doxorubicin led to the development of DCM with reduced fractional shortening (FS), reduced dP/dt(max), increased systolic and diastolic LV diameters, and reduced response to dobutamine. In DCM-Sham, these changes were further enhanced, while in DCM-EHT we found improved FS, dP/dt(max), and dobutamine responsiveness. In isolated hearts, electrical multielectrode mapping revealed that EHT was electrically activated synchronously to the recipient heart. Histologically, we found increased vascularization in the EHT and the recipient heart, and EHT vessels connected to the coronary system.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Implantation of EHT improves LV performance in rats with doxorubicin-induced DCM.
authors.affiliation: Clinic for Cardiac Surgery, Heart Centre Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Sergey
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Leontyev
authors.forename: Franziska
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Schlegel
authors.forename: Cathleen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Spath
authors.forename: Ronny
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schmiedel
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nichtitz
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Boldt
authors.forename: Rudolf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rübsamen
authors.forename: Aida
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Salameh
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kostelka
authors.forename: Friedrich-Wilhelm
authors.initials: FW
authors.lastname: Mohr
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dhein
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D002311:Cardiomyopathy, Dilated / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004452:Echocardiography; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D032383:Myocytes, Cardiac / Q000166:cytology / Q000637:transplantation*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D016277:Ventricular Function, Left