Cultured cardiac fibroblasts and myofibroblasts express Sushi Containing Domain 2 and assemble a unique fibronectin rich matrix.

Cardiac fibroblasts and myofibroblasts assemble and maintain extracellular matrix during normal development and following injury. Culture expansion of these cells yield a bioengineered matrix that could lead to intriguing therapeutic opportunities. For example, we reported that cultured rat cardiac fibroblasts form a matrix that can be used to delivery therapeutic stem cells. Furthermore, we reported that matrix derived from cultured human cardiac fibroblasts/myofibroblasts converted monocytes into macrophages that express interesting anti-inflammatory and pro-angiogenic properties. Expanding these matrix investigations require characterization of the source cells for quality control. In these efforts, we observed and herein report that Sushi Containing Domain 2 (SUSD2) is a novel and consistent marker for cultured human cardiac fibroblast and myofibroblasts.

Natural Sources of Extracellular Matrix for Cardiac Repair.

Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine have adopted the use of extracellular matrix (ECM) as a cell delivery device and bioactive regenerative agent. To this end, many ECMs have been investigated for cardiac tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications with variable success. Many sources of natural ECMs have been tested for cardiac applications. Typically, natural ECMs have been made from decellularized organs or tissues and processed into either sheets or injectable hydrogels. This chapter will review natural sources of ECM materials that have been tested as therapeutic agents in models of heart failure.

Hepatic Small Vessel Neoplasm Mimics Prostate Cancer on 18 F-DCFPyl PET/CT.

ABSTRACT: 18 F-DCFPyl is a Food and Drug Administration-approved radiotracer that targets prostate-specific membrane antigen and is used in the detection of recurrent or metastatic prostate cancer. As its use has increased, a growing number of nonprostatic disease entities have been identified that express prostate-specific membrane antigen and can mimic prostate cancer. Thus, the interpreting physician must also consider other variables such as serum prostate-specific antigen levels and the distribution of uptake to avoid an inappropriate diagnosis of metastatic prostate cancer. We describe 18 F-DCFPyl uptake associated with a hepatic small vessel neoplasm, an association previously undescribed in the literature.

Cardiac fibroblast derived matrix-educated macrophages express VEGF and IL-6, and recruit mesenchymal stromal cells.

The polarization of monocytes into macrophages that possess anti-inflammatory and pro-angiogenic properties could provide a novel therapeutic strategy for patients who are at a high risk for developing heart failure following myocardial infarction (MI). Here in, we describe a novel method of "educating" monocytes into a distinct population of macrophages that exhibit anti-inflammatory and pro-angiogenic features through a 3-day culture on fibronectin-rich cardiac matrix (CX) manufactured using cultured human cardiac fibroblasts. Our data suggest that CX can educate monocytes into a unique macrophage population termed CX educated macrophages (CXMq) that secrete high levels of VEGF and IL-6. In vitro, CXMq also demonstrate the ability to recruit mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) with known anti-inflammatory properties. Selective inhibition of fibronectin binding to αVß3 surface integrins on CXMq prevented MSC recruitment. This suggests that insoluble fibronectin within CX is, at least in part, responsible for CXMq conversion.