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Updated: May 31, 2025
3D Human Myocardial Tissue Generation Using Melt Electrospinning Writing of Polycaprolactone Scaffolds and hiPSC-Derived Cardiac Cells
Published on: March 28, 2025
3D-Printed Myocardium-Specific Structure Enhances Maturation and Therapeutic Efficacy of Engineered Heart Tissue in
Yong Wu1, Yaning Wang1, Miao Xiao1
1Institute for Cardiovascular Science & Department of Cardiovascular Surgery of the First Affiliated Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Radiation Medicine and Protection, Suzhou Medical College, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215000, China.
Abstract:
Despite advancements in engineered heart tissue (EHT), challenges persist in achieving accurate dimensional accuracy of scaffolds and maturing human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs), a primary source of functional cardiac cells. Drawing inspiration from cardiac muscle fiber arrangement, a three-dimensional (3D)-printed multi-layered microporous polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffold is created with interlayer angles set at 45° to replicate the precise structure of native cardiac tissue. Compared with the control group and 90° PCL scaffolds, the 45° PCL scaffolds exhibited superior biocompatibility for cell culture and improved hiPSC-CM maturation in calcium handling. RNA sequencing demonstrated that the 45° PCL scaffold promotes the mature phenotype in hiPSC-CMs by upregulating ion channel genes. Using the 45° PCL scaffold, a multi-cellular EHT is successfully constructed, incorporating human cardiomyocytes, endothelial cells, and mesenchymal stem cells. These complex EHTs significantly enhanced hiPSC-CM engraftment in vivo, attenuated ventricular remodeling, and improved cardiac function in mouse myocardial infarction. In summary, the myocardium-specific structured EHT developed in this study represents a promising advancement in cardiovascular regenerative medicine.
