Matrix Bound Nanovesicles and Hydrogel from Decellularized Pericardium Extracellular Matrix: Characterization and Applications in Regenerative Medicine

Biomaterials have recently gained a lot of interest in the field of regenerative medicine applications. The advancement of this field has moved towards the necessity to develop biomaterials that exhibit bioactivity and are able to stimulate the organism’s own ability to repair itself and restore its functions. In the context of bioactive materials’ development, materials derived from decellularized extracellular matrix (dECM) have shown outstanding potential due to their intrinsic bioactivity. dECM is obtained by the decellularization process of different tissues, which allows to remove the cellular component of extracellular matrix (ECM), preserving its composition and structure. In fact, the obtained dECM biomaterials have demonstrated to retain the bioactive cues of ECM and have shown success in many regenerative medicine applications. In particular, dECM hydrogels represent interesting candidates for these applications. This is due to their composition, hydrated 3D structure, injectability, and bioactivity. Moreover, the process of solubilization of the matrix used to obtain dECM hydrogels allows to release several bioactive components, among which matrix bound nanovesicles (MBVs) are found. MBVs are a recently discovered subtype of ECM vesicles, which distinguish themselves for their unique way of remaining adhered to ECM and for their tissue-specific content. Importantly, MBVs were shown to confer dECM biomaterials part of their signature bioactivity, and have shown to play major biological roles, such as immunomodulation and tissue repair. Although many dECM source materials have been evaluated for the development of dECM’s hydrogels and MBVs, decellularized bovine pericardium (dBP), which is a renowned biomaterial in the surgical applications, has been overlooked in the framework of MBVs and dECM hydrogels for regenerative medicine. In this context, this thesis aims to advance knowledge in the field of dBP biomaterials for regenerative medicine.