Epicardial slices: an innovative 3D organotypic model to study epicardial cell physiology and activation.

Maselli D, Matos RS, Johnson RD, Chiappini C, Camelliti P, Campagnolo P

NPJ Regenerative medicine17 Jan 2022Cited by 13 (Europe PMC)

PMID35039552PMCIDPMC8764051DOI10.1038/s41536-021-00202-7PepBankPUB-35039552

Summary

The epicardium constitutes an untapped reservoir for cardiac regeneration. Upon heart injury, the adult epicardium re-activates, leading to epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), migration, and differentiation. While interesting mechanistic and therapeutic findings arose from lower vertebrates and rodent models, the introduction of an experimental system representative of large mammals would undoubtedly facilitate translational advancements. Here, we apply innovative protocols to obtain living 3D organotypic epicardial slices from porcine hearts, encompassing the epicardial/myocardial interface. In culture, our slices preserve the in vivo architecture and functionality, presenting a continuous epicardium overlaying a healthy and connected myocardium. Upon thymosin β4 treatment of the slices, the epicardial cells become activated, upregulating epicardial and EMT genes, resulting in epicardial cell mobilization and differentiation into epicardial-derived mesenchymal cells. Our 3D organotypic model enables to investigate the reparative potential of the adult epicardium, offering an advanced tool to explore ex vivo the complex 3D interactions occurring within the native heart environment.

CC BYText from Europe PMC. Highlighted sentences are the source of results.

Results from this study4

4 results from studies that gave the peptide. No result from this study comes from people.

01LabEx vivo tissueMechanism
In porcine epicardial slices, Tβ4 treatment upregulated epicardial genes.
In plain wordsIn lab-kept pig heart tissue, Tβ4 raised the activity of epicardial genes.
Peptide
Thymosin beta-4 (human)
Outcome
IncreaseEpicardial gene expression
Study
pign: not reported in source
porcine 3D organotypic epicardial slices
Outcome group
Heart repair and regeneration · Cardiovascular
Studied dose
Dose not stated
Source sentences
Summary
Upon thymosin β4 treatment of the slices, the epicardial cells become activated, upregulating epicardial and EMT genes, resulting in epicardial cell mobilization and differentiation into epicardial-derived mesenchymal cells.
1 context sentence(design, population, supporting numbers)
Summary · context
Here, we apply innovative protocols to obtain living 3D organotypic epicardial slices from porcine hearts, encompassing the epicardial/myocardial interface.
Show in the study text Report a problemFND-3503955201
02LabEx vivo tissueMechanism
In porcine epicardial slices, Tβ4 treatment upregulated epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition genes.
In plain wordsIn lab-kept pig heart tissue, Tβ4 raised the activity of genes for epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition.
Peptide
Thymosin beta-4 (human)
Outcome
IncreaseEMT gene expression
Study
pign: not reported in source
porcine 3D organotypic epicardial slices
Outcome group
Heart repair and regeneration · Cardiovascular
Studied dose
Dose not stated
Source sentences
Summary
Upon thymosin β4 treatment of the slices, the epicardial cells become activated, upregulating epicardial and EMT genes, resulting in epicardial cell mobilization and differentiation into epicardial-derived mesenchymal cells.
1 context sentence(design, population, supporting numbers)
Summary · context
Here, we apply innovative protocols to obtain living 3D organotypic epicardial slices from porcine hearts, encompassing the epicardial/myocardial interface.
Show in the study text Report a problemFND-3503955202
03LabEx vivo tissueMechanism
In porcine epicardial slices, Tβ4 treatment activated epicardial cells and resulted in epicardial cell mobilization.
In plain wordsIn lab-kept pig heart tissue, Tβ4 made epicardial cells move.
Peptide
Thymosin beta-4 (human)
Outcome
IncreaseEpicardial cell mobilization
Study
pign: not reported in source
porcine 3D organotypic epicardial slices
Outcome group
Heart repair and regeneration · Cardiovascular
Studied dose
Dose not stated
Source sentences
Summary
Upon thymosin β4 treatment of the slices, the epicardial cells become activated, upregulating epicardial and EMT genes, resulting in epicardial cell mobilization and differentiation into epicardial-derived mesenchymal cells.
1 context sentence(design, population, supporting numbers)
Summary · context
Here, we apply innovative protocols to obtain living 3D organotypic epicardial slices from porcine hearts, encompassing the epicardial/myocardial interface.
Show in the study text Report a problemFND-3503955203
04LabEx vivo tissueMechanism
In porcine epicardial slices, Tβ4 treatment resulted in differentiation of epicardial cells into epicardial-derived mesenchymal cells.
In plain wordsIn lab-kept pig heart tissue, Tβ4 pushed epicardial cells to develop into mesenchymal cells.
Peptide
Thymosin beta-4 (human)
Outcome
IncreaseDifferentiation into epicardial-derived mesenchymal cells
Study
pign: not reported in source
porcine 3D organotypic epicardial slices
Outcome group
Heart repair and regeneration · Cardiovascular
Studied dose
Dose not stated
Source sentences
Summary
Upon thymosin β4 treatment of the slices, the epicardial cells become activated, upregulating epicardial and EMT genes, resulting in epicardial cell mobilization and differentiation into epicardial-derived mesenchymal cells.
1 context sentence(design, population, supporting numbers)
Summary · context
Here, we apply innovative protocols to obtain living 3D organotypic epicardial slices from porcine hearts, encompassing the epicardial/myocardial interface.
Show in the study text Report a problemFND-3503955204

AI wrote and checked these results. AI can make mistakes, so check important results against the source.

Version history

PepBank keeps every version of the data on this study. Status changes from Retraction Watch, Europe PMC and Crossref are listed with their source.

Version 2Current
13 Oct 2026, 01:52 UTC
Study results updated
Version 1
12 Oct 2026, 18:17 UTC
First added · source update from Europe PMC

Subjects

Terms as the source lists them.

Publication types

PepBank is a research reference. Talk to a doctor before you use any peptide.