Ex vivo model for the study of epicardium-targeted therapies

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The recovery capacity of the adult heart after injury is severely limited by the low number of regenerating cells within this tissue. The epicardium, the most external layer of the heart, contains cells able to home to the injured heart muscle and promote its recovery. The models available to the scientists to study this phenomenon and develop strategies aimed at facilitating and improving the reparative process are limited and mainly based on regulated procedures (surgeries) performed on animals. In this project we will develop a model based on leftover pig heart tissues to mimic in a dish the behaviour of the epicardium after stimulation.Pig hearts will be reduced to thin slices including both the epicardium and underlying heart muscle; the slices will be subjected to treatments to simulate the aftermath of heart disease and stimulated with known therapeutic substances to assess the capacity of our system to reproduce what has been observed in the animal models.Once our model is tested, it will be used to develop new therapies harnessing the reparative potential of the epicardium.