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Published on: January 23, 2021
Translational Applications of Tissue Engineering in Cardiovascular Medicine
Arin Dogan, A Eser Elcin, Y Murat Elcin1
1Ankara University Faculty of Science, Tissue Engineering, Biomaterials & Nanobiotechnology Laboratory, Degol Caddesi, Tandogan 06100 Ankara, Turkey.
Insights
Tissue engineering offers novel treatments for cardiovascular diseases, using stem cells and biomaterials to repair heart damage and develop artificial organs. This approach aims to cure heart conditions, improving patient quality of life and reducing healthcare burdens.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Regenerative Medicine
- Cardiovascular Research
Background:
- Cardiovascular diseases are a leading cause of global mortality, with limited donor organ availability for end-stage conditions.
- Current treatments focus on managing progressive diseases, highlighting the need for innovative therapeutic strategies.
- Tissue engineering presents a promising avenue for repairing cardiac damage and developing functional bio-artificial organs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review translational methods in cardiovascular tissue engineering.
- To summarize pre-clinical and clinical applications of these regenerative approaches.
- To highlight the potential of tissue engineering in treating heart valve deficiency, ischemic heart disease, and vascular diseases.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) for generating patient-specific cardiomyocytes.
- Developing biomimetic 3D constructs and organ-on-chip systems for drug screening and toxicity studies.
- Engineering tissue-specific constructs such as heart valves, blood vessels, and cardiac patches.
Main Results:
- Animal studies demonstrate that tissue engineering can reverse adverse remodeling post-myocardial infarction.
- iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes in 3D constructs serve as effective tools for drug discovery and toxicity assessment.
- Ongoing research focuses on creating functional bio-artificial organs and tissue replacements for cardiovascular applications.
Conclusions:
- Cardiovascular tissue engineering holds significant potential for developing cures, not just treatments, for heart diseases.
- Translational research in this field aims to improve patient quality of life and reduce global healthcare burdens.
- The development of tissue-engineered heart valves, vessels, and patches represents a significant step towards bio-artificial organ regeneration.
Abstract:
Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of global deaths. The current paradigm in medicine seeks novel approaches for the treatment of progressive or end-stage diseases. The organ transplantation option is limited in availability, and unfortunately, a significant number of patients are lost while waiting for donor organs. Animal studies have shown that upon myocardial infarction, it is possible to stop adverse remodeling in its tracks and reverse with tissue engineering methods. Regaining the myocardium function and avoiding further deterioration towards heart failure can benefit millions of people with a significantly lesser burden on healthcare systems worldwide. The advent of induced pluripotent stem cells brings the unique advantage of testing candidate drug molecules on organ-on-chip systems, which mimics human heart in vitro. Biomimetic three-dimensional constructs that contain disease-specific or normal cardiomyocytes derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells are a useful tool for screening drug molecules and studying dosage, mode of action and cardio-toxicity. Tissue engineering approach aims to develop the treatments for heart valve deficiency, ischemic heart disease and a wide range of vascular diseases. Translational research seeks to improve the patient's quality of life, progressing towards developing cures, rather than treatments. To this end, researchers are working on tissue engineered heart valves, blood vessels, cardiac patches, and injectable biomaterials, hence developing new ways for engineering bio-artificial organs or tissue parts that the body will adopt as its own. In this review, we summarize translational methods for cardiovascular tissue engineering and present useful tables on pre-clinical and clinical applications.
