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Stem Cell-Based Cardiac Tissue Engineering

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Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide, and cell-based therapies represent a potential cure for patients with cardiac diseases such as myocardial infarction, heart failure, and congenital heart diseases. Towards this goal, cardiac tissue engineering is now being investigated as an approach to support cell-based therapies and enhance their efficacy. This review focuses on the latest research in cardiac tissue engineering based on the use of embryonic, induced pluripotent, or adult stem cells. We describe different strategies such as direct injection of cells and/or biomaterials as well as direct replacement therapies with tissue mimics. In this regard, the latest research has shown promising results demonstrating the improvement of cardiac function with different strategies. It is clear from recent studies that the most important consideration to be addressed by new therapeutic strategies is long-term functional improvement. For this goal to be realized, novel and efficient methods of cell delivery are required that enable high cell retention, followed by electrical integration and mechanical coupling of the injected cells or the engineered tissue to the host myocardium.

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Acknowledgments

Financial support for our work is provided by a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Discovery Grant (RGPIN 326982–10), Discovery Accelerator Supplement (RGPAS 396125–10), NSERC Strategic Grant (STPGP 381002–09), NSERC-Canadian Institutes of Health Research Collaborative Health Research Grant (CHRPJ 385981–10), and Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario Grant-in-Aid (T6946).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, 164 College St. Rosebrugh Building, Toronto, ON, Canada, M5S 3G9

    Sara S. Nunes, Hannah Song, C. Katherine Chiang & Milica Radisic

  2. Toronto General Research Institute, University Health Network, MaRS Centre, 101 College St., Toronto, ON, Canada, M5G 1L7

    Sara S. Nunes

  3. Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, 200 College St., Toronto, ON, Canada, M5S 3E5

    Milica Radisic

  4. Heart and Stroke/Richard Lewar Centre of Excellence, University of Toronto, 150 College St., Toronto, ON, Canada, M5S 3E2

    Milica Radisic

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  1. Sara S. Nunes
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  2. Hannah Song
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  3. C. Katherine Chiang
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  4. Milica Radisic
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Correspondence to Sara S. Nunes or Milica Radisic.

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Nunes, S.S., Song, H., Chiang, C.K. et al. Stem Cell-Based Cardiac Tissue Engineering. J. of Cardiovasc. Trans. Res. 4, 592–602 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12265-011-9307-x

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