Fig. 1
Native human pericardium. a Native human pericardium. b-l The corresponding sections were composed of dense tissue rich in collagen and, elastin, and adipose tissue after hematoxylin/eosin staining (b and c, respectively), light green Masson’s (f and g, respectively), and Gallego’s modified trichrome (j and k, respectively) staining. Vascular (d, h and l) and nerve (e and i) structures in native human pericardium. m Transmission electron microscopy image of native pericardium showing the presence of microvasculature (arrows). Blood vessels in human pericardium labeled with isolectin B4 (green), smooth muscle actin (red), and elastin (white) antibodies (n), von Willebrand factor (green) and collagen I (red) (o), and CD31 (green) and collagen I (red) (p). q Nerve fibers in the native pericardium after βIII tubulin (green) and elastin (red) labeling. Nuclei are counterstained with 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) (blue). r Decellularized and lyophilized human pericardium and (s) its implantation after coronary ligature (asterisk). t Photograph of a decellularized, cell-free pericardium 30 days after implantation. u Snap-frozen sample including the myocardium (M) and the pericardial scaffold (P) adhered to the cardiac muscle. Scale bars = 100 μm (D, G, J and K), 50 μm (b, c, e, f, h, i, l, o, p, q, and r), and 2 μm (m)