By Anthony Catalano
The Extracellular Matrix (ECM)
 Provides support to
tissue
 Composed of fibers:
Collagen and Elastin
 Made up of cells called
Fibroblasts
 Found in intercellular
cavities
Discovery of ECM as a “Bioscaffold”
 1989- Dr. Stephen
Dr. Stephen Badylak
Badylak performed
Aortic surgery
(Cardiomyoplasty) on a
canine
 Replaced canine’s Aorta
with a segment of the
canine’s small intestine
 Canine survived surgery
and lived for another 8
years
Further investigation of the ECM
 Dr. Stephen Badylak
determined it was the ECM
that was the root cause of
the successful surgery
 Experimented on
Xenogeneic ECM extracted
from a pig bladder
 Removed all cells from
ECM
 Performed same surgery
with decellularized ECM
Physiology of Dr. Badylak’s Discovery
 The ECM contains cells
called fibroblasts
 When tissue becomes
damaged, fibroblasts
secrete excess collagen to
damaged site
 The ECM scaffold prevents
inflammation and excess
collagen by promoting the
secretion of growth factors
 The growth factors prevent
the immune system from
secreting excess collagen
and instead stimulates the
body to repair tissue
Types of ECM scaffolding Today
1.)Hydrated sheet ECM
2.)Lyophilized powdered
ECM
(15mg-$400.00-CellAdhere™ )
3.)ECM Gel
(10ml-$175.88- Gibco®)
Advantages and Disadvantages of
ECM scaffolding
PROS
 Biocompatibility
 No immune (postsurgery) drugs required
 Regain of tissue function
 Regeneration of tissue
without use of
controversial harvesting
of stem cells
CONS
 Dependant on
percentage of lost or
damaged tissue (%2580% max)
 External Scarring
 Recovery Rate (1-2
months)
Current Use of ECM scaffolds
 FDA approved for clinical
use in 1999
 Dr. Stephen Badylak is
working with wounded
veterans to replace lost
muscle tissue
 80 patient study, 5 patients
treated, all successful in
regaining muscle function
 Average of 12-15% regain in
muscle mass
Marine Sgt. Ron Strang
Corporal Isaias Hernandez
Future of ECM Scaffolding
 Use for hospitals and the
military
 Portable regenerative
medicine for use at home
(Band-Aids)
 Rebuilding limbs or
other artificial body
parts*
 Quicker recovery rate
 Lower Cost
References

Badylak, Stephen, Dr. "The Extracellular Matrix as a Scaffold for Tissue Reconstruction." CELL &
DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY (2002): Pgs:377-382 Web.

Piore, Adam. "Discover Magazine." The Healing Power from Within 7 July 2011: 68-88. Web. Valentin,
J. E., J. S. Badylak, G. P. McCabe, and

S. F. Badylak. "Extracellular Matrix Bioscaffolds for Orthopaedic Applications. A Comparative
Histologic Study." The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery 88.12 (2006): 2673-686. Print.

"Extracellular Matrix." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 16 Oct. 2012. Web. 17 Oct. 2012.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extracellular_matrix>.

Badylak, S. "Xenogeneic Extracellular Matrix as a Scaffold for Tissue Reconstruction.“ Transplant
Immunology 12.3-4 (2004): 367-77. Print.
 Sell, Scott A., Patricia S. Wolfe, Koyal Garg, Jennifer M. McCool, Isaac A. Rodriguez, and Gary
L. Bowlin. "The Use of Natural Polymers in Tissue Engineering: A Focus on Electrospun
Extracellular Matrix Analogues." Polymers 2.4 (2010): 522-53. Print.