Provided herein are methods and compositions for cardiac therapy. Such compositions include extracellular-matrix (ECM)-based products that can be used to support tissue repair. The compositions can be used for various purposes. In some cases, they can be introduced into a subject in order to preserve and/or repair damaged heart tissue.

Devices and methods for treating defects in connective tissue are provided along with methods for making such devices. The devices can include acellular arterial tissue matrices that facilitate regrowth of the damaged tissue.

The present invention relates to a biomaterial-derived sheet-like decellularized material having a maximum value of tensile strength in four directions of 4 MPa or more and an elongation rate in the direction exhibiting the maximum tensile strength of 50% to 300%. The present invention can provide a sheet-like material capable of maintaining excellent pressure resistance when used as an artificial blood vessel or for repair of a blood vessel.

The present invention provides novel compositions comprising multipotent cells or microvascular tissue, wherein the cells or tissue has been sterilized and/or treated to inactivated viruses, and related methods of using these compositions to treat or prevent tissue injury or disease in an allogeneic subject.

Methods for inhibiting stenosis, obstruction and/or calcification of a heart valve following implantation in a vessel having a wall are disclosed. In one aspect the method includes providing a bioprosthetic heart valve mounted on an elastical stent; treating the bioprosthetic heart valve with a tissue fixative; coating the stent and the bioprosthetic valve with a coating composition including one or more therapeutic agents; implanting the bioprosthetic valve into the vessel in a diseased natural valve site; eluting the coating composition from the bioprosthetic valve; and inhibiting stenosis, obstruction and/or calcification of the bioprosthetic heart valve by preventing the attachment of stem cells to the bioprosthetic heart valve, the stem cells circulating external and proximate to the bioprosthetic heart valve by activating nitric oxide production (i) in the circulating stem cells, (ii) in an endothelial cell lining covering the bioprosthetic heart valve tissue, (iii) or both.

The present disclosure provides tissue fillers. The tissue fillers can include a plurality of tissue particles formed from acellular tissue matrix fragments. The tissue fillers can be used to fill tissue sites, such as voids formed after tissue resection.

A method of producing a decellularized transplantation material, wherein the method includes the steps of (a) harvesting a branch-bearing blood vessel from a vertebrate animal (a donor); (b) decellularizing the blood vessel; and (c) adhering, by a protein denaturation treatment, a portion where a branch has been excised to close the vessel. Also, a graft composition consisting of a biocompatible material that contains the decellularized transplantation material.

The invention relates to a device for use in the transcatheter treatment of mitral valve regurgitation, specifically a coaptation enhancement element for implantation across the valve; a system including the coaptation enhancement element and anchors for implantation; a system including the coaptation enhancement element, catheter and driver; and a method for transcatheter implantation of a coaptation element across a heart valve.

A method for preparing tissue, in particular pericardial tissue, in particular for a heart valve prosthesis, the method including: decellularizing the tissue; subjecting the decellularized tissue to a cross-linking solution including glutaraldehyde; subjecting the tissue to a shape- and structure-stabilizing step, in which the tissue is exposed to a first solution containing glycerol and is exposed to a second solution containing polyethylene glycol; and drying the tissue after the shape- and structure-stabilizing step.

The growth factor profile, connective tissue matrix constituents, and immunoprivileged status of urodele extracellular matrix (ECM) and accompanying cutaneous tissue, plus the presence of antimicrobial peptides there, render urodele-derived tissue an ideal source for biological scaffolds for xenotransplantation. In particular, a biological scaffold biomaterial can be obtained by a process that entails (A) obtaining a tissue sample from a urodele, where the tissue comprises ECM, inclusive of the basement membrane, and (B) subjecting the tissue sample to a decellularization process that maintains the structural and functional integrity of the extracellular matrix, by virtue of retaining its fibrous and on-fibrous proteins, glycoaminoglycans (GAGs) and proteoglycans, while removing sufficient cellular components of the sample to reduce or eliminate antigenicity and immunogenicity for xenograft purposes. The resultant urodele-derived biomaterial can be used to enhance restoration of skin homeostasis, to reduce the severity, durations and associated damage caused by post-surgical inflammation, and to promote progression of natural healing and regeneration processes. In addition, the biomaterial promotes the formation of remodeled tissue that is comparable in quality, function, and compliance to undamaged human tissue.