Guiding the spatial organization of engineered heart tissues

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Cardiovascular Research
• Tissue Engineering

Background:

• Cardiac function relies on precise spatial organization across multiple scales.
• Engineered heart tissues struggle to replicate native myocardium's dynamic spatial heterogeneity.
• This limitation leads to immature phenotypes, hindering tissue models and clinical applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine principles and technologies for spatial control in cardiac tissue engineering.
• To outline native heart spatial patterning and derive design criteria for engineered systems.
• To review progress and applications in engineered heart tissues.

Main Methods:

• Review of biomolecular techniques (morphogen gradients, signaling) and electromechanical conditioning.
• Overview of bioengineering platforms: microfabrication, microfluidics, and bioprinting.
• Analysis of combined bottom-up self-organization and top-down engineering approaches.

Main Results:

• Spatial control is crucial for recapitulating native cardiac architecture and function.
• Emerging applications include organ-on-a-chip platforms and regenerative therapies.
• Hybrid systems combining self-organization with defined architectures show promise.

Conclusions:

• Spatial control is a central requirement for advancing engineered cardiac tissues.
• Future directions include adaptive and predictive design strategies for enhanced functionality.
• Improved engineered cardiac tissues will benefit basic research and translational medicine.