Patent ID: 8735155

Claim:
An injectable graft composition for myocardial tissue regeneration, said composition comprising an acellular extracellular matrix (ECM) from a mammalian tissue source comprising stomach submucosa, said ECM comprising endogenous transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) and fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2), said ECM further comprising an exogenously added glycosaminoglycan (GAG) protein, said GAG protein comprising at least 0.1% by weight of said composition, said GAG protein being linked to said ECM, wherein said GAG protein stimulates angiogenic effects of FGF-2 and interacts with TGF-β to control matrix formation and remodeling, wherein, when said composition is administered to damaged or diseased cardiovascular tissue, said composition induces stem cell proliferation and differentiation of stem cells into cardiomyocytes.