Open AccessApplication of injectable hydrogels for cardiac stem cell therapy and tissue engineering
Author(s) -
Keshav Narayan Alagarsamy,
Weiang Yan,
Abhay Srivastava,
Vincenzo Desiderio,
Sanjiv Dhingra
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
reviews in cardiovascular medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.555
H-Index - 39
eISSN - 2153-8174
pISSN - 1530-6550
DOI - 10.31083/j.rcm.2019.04.534
Subject(s) - medicine , stem cell , myocardial infarction , stem cell therapy , transplantation , tissue engineering , induced pluripotent stem cell , cardiology , regeneration (biology) , embryonic stem cell , cell therapy , heart failure , cardiac function curve , biomedical engineering , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , biochemistry , gene
Cardiovascular diseases are responsible for approximately one-third of deaths around the world. Among cardiovascular diseases, the largest single cause of death is ischemic heart disease. Ischemic heart disease typically manifests as progressive constriction of the coronary arteries, which obstructs blood flow to the heart and can ultimately lead to myocardial infarction. This adversely affects the structure and function of the heart. Conventional treatments lack the ability to treat the myocardium lost during an acute myocardial infarction. Stem cell therapy offers an excellent solution for myocardial regeneration. Stem cell sources such as adult stem cells, embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells have been the focal point of research in cardiac tissue engineering. However, cell survival and engraftment post-transplantation are major limitations that must be addressed prior to widespread use of this technology. Recently, biomaterials have been introduced as 3D vehicles to facilitate stem cell transplantation into infarct sites. This has shown significant promise with improved cell survival after transplantation. In this review, we discuss the various injectable hydrogels that have been tried in cardiac tissue engineering. Exploring and optimizing these cell-material interactions will guide cardiac tissue engineering towards developing stem cell based functional 3D constructs for cardiac regeneration.