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Updated: Dec 7, 2025
A Hydrogel Construct and Fibrin-based Glue Approach to Deliver Therapeutics in a Murine Myocardial Infarction Model.
Published on: June 14, 2015
Release of VEGF and BMP9 from injectable alginate based composite hydrogel for treatment of myocardial infarction
Yong Wu1, Tianqi Chang1, Weiqian Chen1
1Institute for Cardiovascular Science & Department of Cardiovascular Surgery of the First Affiliated Hospital, Medical College, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215000, PR China.
Insights
This study developed an injectable hydrogel delivering vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and bone morphogenetic protein 9 (BMP9) to treat myocardial infarction (MI). The dual-release system promotes blood vessel formation and reduces heart damage, showing promise for cardiac repair.
Area of Science:
- Biomaterials Science
- Regenerative Medicine
- Cardiovascular Research
Background:
- Myocardial infarction (MI) involves complex pathophysiology, including necrosis, inflammation, and fibrosis.
- Effective MI treatment requires addressing multiple stages, from early vascularization to long-term fibrosis inhibition.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop an injectable composite hydrogel for sustained, dual release of VEGF and BMP9.
- To investigate the therapeutic potential of this hydrogel in a mouse model of myocardial infarction.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of an alginate-based composite hydrogel loaded with VEGF and BMP9-containing silk fibroin microspheres.
- In vitro release studies to characterize VEGF and BMP9 release kinetics.
- Intramyocardial injection into the infarct border zone of a mouse MI model.
Main Results:
- The hydrogel exhibited rapid VEGF release and sustained BMP9 release.
- VEGF promoted angiogenesis, while BMP9 inhibited myocardial fibrosis.
- Injection of the hydrogel reduced infarction size and improved cardiac function in the MI model.
Conclusions:
- The dual-release hydrogel demonstrates a synergistic effect for MI treatment.
- This approach offers a promising strategy for improving heart function after myocardial infarction.
- The developed biomaterial holds potential for clinical cardiac applications.
Abstract:
Myocardial infarction (MI) is one of cardiovascular diseases that pose a serious threat to human health. The pathophysiology of MI is complex and contains several sequential phases including blockage of a coronary artery, necrosis of myocardial cells, inflammation, and myocardial fibrosis. Aiming at the treatment of different stages of MI, in this work, an injectable alginate based composite hydrogel is developed to load vascular endothelial active factor (VEGF) and silk fibroin (SF) microspheres containing bone morphogenetic protein 9 (BMP9) for releasing VEGF and BMP9 to realize their respective functions. The results of in vitro experiments indicate a rapid initial release of VEGF during the first few days and a relatively slow and sustained release of BMP9 for days, facilitating the formation of blood vessels in the early stage and inhibiting myocardial fibrosis in the long-term stage, respectively. Intramyocardial injection of such composite hydrogel into the infarct border zone of mice MI model via multiple points promotes angiogenesis and reduces the infarction size. Taken together, these results indicate that the dual-release of VEGF and BMP9 from the composite hydrogel results in a collaborative effect on the treatment of MI and improvement of heart function, showing a promising potential for cardiac clinical application.
