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Updated: Aug 22, 2025
Preparation of Mesh-Shaped Engineered Cardiac Tissues Derived from Human iPS Cells for In Vivo Myocardial Repair
Published on: June 9, 2020
Engineered Tissue for Cardiac Regeneration: Current Status and Future Perspectives
Junjun Li1, Li Liu1, Jingbo Zhang1
1Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.
Insights
Human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes offer a promising solution for heart failure, addressing donor heart shortages. Tissue engineering advances are paving the way for their clinical use in heart transplantation.
Area of Science:
- Regenerative Medicine
- Cardiovascular Research
- Biomaterials Science
Background:
- Heart failure (HF) is a major global health concern, with limited donor hearts restricting transplantation efficacy.
- Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs), including embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs), can be generated indefinitely.
- hPSCs can be efficiently differentiated into cardiomyocytes (hPSC-CMs), presenting a potential alternative to donor hearts.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review tissue-engineering technologies for human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hPSC-CMs).
- To discuss materials, formation techniques, and delivery methods for hPSC-CMs in cardiac repair.
- To highlight recent clinical applications and future challenges for hPSC-CM translation.
Main Methods:
- Review of literature on hPSC-CM generation and differentiation.
- Analysis of biomaterials and scaffold techniques for cardiac tissue engineering.
- Examination of delivery strategies for hPSC-CMs into cardiac tissue.
- Assessment of current clinical trial data and regulatory pathways.
Main Results:
- hPSC-CMs show high differentiation efficiency and potential for cardiac regeneration.
- Various biomaterials and tissue engineering strategies are being developed to support hPSC-CM survival and function.
- Delivery methods are advancing, with initial clinical applications showing promise.
- Significant progress has been made in harnessing hPSC-CMs for therapeutic purposes.
Conclusions:
- hPSC-CMs represent a viable alternative to donor hearts for treating heart failure.
- Tissue engineering innovations are crucial for the successful clinical translation of hPSC-CMs.
- Overcoming current limitations and continued research are essential for widespread adoption in cardiac repair.
Abstract:
Heart failure (HF) is the leading cause of death worldwide. The most effective HF treatment is heart transplantation, the use of which is restricted by the limited supply of donor hearts. The human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC), including human embryonic stem cell (hESC) and the induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC), could be produced in an infinite manner and differentiated into cardiomyocytes (CMs) with high efficiency. The hPSC-CMs have, thus, offered a promising alternative for heart transplant. In this review, we introduce the tissue-engineering technologies for hPSC-CM, including the materials for cell culture and tissue formation, and the delivery means into the heart. The most recent progress in clinical application of hPSC-CMs is also introduced. In addition, the bottleneck limitations and future perspectives for clinical translation are further discussed.
