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Updated: Sep 24, 2025
A Hydrogel Construct and Fibrin-based Glue Approach to Deliver Therapeutics in a Murine Myocardial Infarction Model.
Published on: June 14, 2015
Minimally invasive delivery of a hydrogel-based exosome patch to prevent heart failure
George Cheng1, Dashuai Zhu1, Ke Huang1
1Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences and Comparative Medicine Institute, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27607, United States.
Insights
Injectable ExoGel, containing stem cell exosomes, offers a minimally invasive therapy for heart failure. This novel treatment reduced heart damage in animal models, showing promise for myocardial infarction recovery.
Area of Science:
- Regenerative Medicine
- Biomaterials Science
- Cardiovascular Research
Background:
- Coronary heart disease (CHD) is a leading cause of death, often leading to heart failure (HF) after myocardial infarction (MI) due to maladaptive remodeling.
- Current regenerative therapies for MI/HF often require invasive surgery, risking complications like adhesions.
- There is a need for less invasive, effective delivery methods for cardiac regenerative therapies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and evaluate an injectable cardiac patch (ExoGel) for treating heart failure.
- To assess the efficacy and safety of ExoGel in preclinical models of heart failure.
Main Methods:
- Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-derived exosomes were embedded into a hyaluronic acid (HA) hydrogel to create ExoGel.
- ExoGel was injected into the pericardial cavity of rats with transverse aortic constriction (TAC)-induced heart failure.
- Feasibility and safety were further assessed in a pig model.
Main Results:
- ExoGel injection in a rat model of heart failure significantly reduced left ventricular (LV) chamber size.
- The therapy preserved LV wall thickness, indicating a protective effect against cardiac remodeling.
- The injection procedure was confirmed as feasible and safe in a larger animal model (pigs).
Conclusions:
- Injectable ExoGel represents a promising, minimally invasive therapeutic strategy for heart failure.
- This approach overcomes the limitations of surgical delivery for cardiac regenerative therapies.
- ExoGel demonstrates potential for improving outcomes in patients with myocardial infarction and heart failure.
Abstract:
Coronary heart disease (CHD) has been the number one killer in the United States for decades and causes millions of deaths each year. Clinical treatment of heart ischemic injury relieves symptoms in the acute stage of CHD; however, patients with an infarcted heart muscle can develop heart failure (HF) due to chronic maladaptive remodeling. Regenerative therapy has been studied as a potential treatment option for myocardial infarction (MI) and HF. Cardiac patches have been designed and tested to increase therapeutic retention and integration. However, the delivery usually requires invasive surgical techniques, including open-chest surgeries and heart manipulation. Those procedures may cause chronic adhesions between the heart anterior wall and the chest wall. This study created and tested an injectable ExoGel by embedding mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) -derived exosomes into a hyaluronic acid (HA) hydrogel. ExoGel was injected into the pericardial cavity of rats with transverse aortic constriction (TAC) induced heart failure. ExoGel therapy reduced LV chamber size and preserved wall thickness. The feasibility and safety of ExoGel injection were further confirmed in a pig model.
