Nanofiber-reinforced myocardial tissue-construct as ventricular assist device

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Regenerative Medicine
• Cardiovascular Research

Background:

• Cardiac tissue damage from myocardial infarction requires effective repair and regeneration strategies.
• Tissue engineering offers a promising approach to create functional cardiac substitutes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a tissue-engineered myocardial construct for repairing, replacing, and regenerating damaged cardiac tissue.
• To evaluate the potential of decellularized cardiac grafts coated with nanofibers for cardiac regeneration.

Main Methods:

• Human cardiac muscles were decellularized and coated with electrospun nanofibers to create scaffolds.
• Scaffolds were cultured in modified media with ischemic cardiac tissue-conditioned media and injected with cord blood mononuclear cells.
• Cultures were subjected to electrical and mechanical stimulation, and cell viability and cardiac marker expression were assessed.

Main Results:

• Nanofiber-coated scaffolds with mononuclear cells exhibited spontaneous contraction after 17 days of culture.
• Histological analysis confirmed stem cell viability and expression of cardiac troponin I and cardiac myosin.
• Implantation of the acellular scaffold into sheep hearts resulted in transformation into native myocardium within 4 months.

Conclusions:

• Decellularized cardiac tissue grafts, reinforced with polymer nanofibers, can be re-cellularized by human mononuclear cells.
• This process leads to the generation of a functional, tissue-engineered myocardial construct.
• The study provides evidence for the potential of this approach in treating cardiac damage.