Cell therapy has become a novel promising approach for improvement of cardiac functional capacity in the instances of ventricular remodeling and fibrosis caused by episodes of coronary artery occlusion and hypoxia. The challenge toward enhancing cell engraftment as well as formation of functional tissue, however, necessitated combinatorial approaches. Here, we complemented human embryonic stem cells‐derived cardiac progenitor cells (hESC‐CPC) therapy by heparin‐conjugated, VEGF‐loaded fibrin hydrogel as VEGF delivery system. Transplantation of this cardiac committed cells along with sustained VEGF release could surpass the cardiac repair effects of each constituent alone in a rat model of acute myocardial infarction. The histologic

Cell therapy has become a novel promising approach for improvement of cardiac functional capacity in the instances of ventricular remodeling and fibrosis caused by episodes of coronary artery occlusion and hypoxia. The challenge toward enhancing cell engraftment as well as formation of functional tissue, however, necessitated combinatorial approaches. Here, we complemented human embryonic stem cell‐derived cardiac progenitor cell (hESC‐CPC) therapy by heparin‐conjugated, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)‐loaded fibrin hydrogel as VEGF delivery system. Transplantation of these cardiac committed cells along with sustained VEGF release could surpass the cardiac repair effects of each constituent alone in a rat model of acute m

Conductive scaffolds are suitable candidates for cardiovascular tissue engineering (CTE) due to their similarity to the extracellular matrix of native tissue. Here, nanofiber scaffolds based on polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), chitosan (CS), and different concentrations of carbon nanotube (CNT) were produced using electrospinning. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image, mechanical test (elastic modulus: 130 ? 3.605 MPa), electrical conductivity (3.4 ? 10−6 S/Cm), water uptake, cell adhesion, and cell viability (>80%) results of the PVA-CS-CNT1 scaffold revealed that the nanofiber containing 1% of CNT has optimal properties for cardiac differentiation. Afterwards, the differentiation of rat mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to cardiomyoc

ObjectiveCardiovascular progenitor cells (CPCs) are introduced as one of the promising cell sources for preclinical studies and regenerative medicine. One of the earliest type of CPCs is cardiogenic mesoderm cells (CMCs), which have the capability to generate all types of cardiac lineage derivatives. In order to benefit from CMCs, development of an efficient culture strategy is required. We aim to explore an optimized culture condition that uses human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-derived CMCs.Materials and MethodsIn this experimental study, hESCs were expanded and induced toward cardiac lineage in a suspension culture. Mesoderm posterior 1-positive (MESP1+) CMCs were subjected to four different culture conditions: i. Suspension culture of CMC

Cardiovascular progenitor cells (CPCs) derived from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) are proposed to be invaluable cell sources for experimental and clinical studies. This wide range of applications necessitates large-scale production of CPCs in an in vitro culture system, which enables both expansion and maintenance of these cells. In this study, we aimed to develop a defined and efficient culture medium that uses signaling factors for large-scale expansion of early CPCs, called cardiogenic mesodermal cells (CMCs), which were derived from hPSCs. Chemical screening resulted in a medium that contained a reproducible combination of three factors (A83-01, bFGF, and CHIR99021) that generated 10 14 CMCs after 10 passages without the propensi

One of the major issues in cell therapy of myocardial infarction (MI) is early death of engrafted cells in a harsh oxidative stress environment, which limits the potential therapeutic utility of this strategy in the clinical setting. Increasing evidence implicates beneficial effects of omega‐3 fatty acids including eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and ascorbic acid (AA) in cardiovascular diseases, in particular their role in ameliorating fibrosis. In the current study, we aim to assess the cytoprotective role of EPA + DHA and AA in protecting embryonic stem cell (ESC)‐derived cardiac lineage cells and amelioration of fibrosis. Herein, we have shown that preincubation of the cells with EPA + DHA + A

Human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiovascular progenitor cells (CPCs) are considered as powerful tools for cardiac regenerative medicine and developmental study. Mesoderm posterior1+ (MESP1+) cells are identified as the earliest CPCs from which almost all cardiac cell types are generated. Molecular insights to the transcriptional regulatory factors of early CPCs are required to control cell fate decisions. Herein, the microarray data set of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs)-derived MESP1+ cells was analysed and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in comparison to undifferentiated hESCs and MESP1-negative cells. Then, gene ontology and pathway enrichment analysis of DEGs were carried out with the subsequent prediction

A novel biodegradable electroactive polyurethane containing aniline pentamer (AP) was blended with polycaprolactone (PCL). The prepared blend (PB) and PCL were further fabricated in to scaffolds using a mixture of poly(ethylene glycol) and salt particles in a double porogen particulate leaching and compression molding methodology. Scaffolds held open and interconnected pores having pore size ranging from several μm to 150 ?m. PB scaffolds had compression modulus and strength of 4.1 and 1.3 MPa, respectively. The conductivity of the scaffold was measured as 10−5 ? 0.09 S?.cm−1 and preserved for at least 100 h post fabrication. Scaffolds supported neonatal cardiomyocytes adhesion and growth with PB showing more extensive effect on the e

Cell therapy of heart diseases is emerging as one of the most promising known treatments in recent years. Transplantation of cardiac stem cells (CSCs) may be one of the best strategies to cure adult or pediatric heart diseases. As these patient-derived stem cells need to be isolated from small heart biopsies, it is important to select the best isolation method and CSC subpopulation with the best cardiogenic functionality. We employed three different protocols including c-KIT+ cell sorting, clonogenic expansion, and explants culture to isolate c-KIT+ cells, clonogenic expansion-derived cells (CEDCs), and cardiosphere-derived cells (CDCs), respectively. Evaluation of isolated CSC characteristics in vitro and after rat myocardial infarction (M

AimsRegenerative therapies based on resident human cardiac progenitor cells (hCPCs) are a promising alternative to medical treatments for patients with myocardial infarction. However, hCPCs are rare in human heart and finding efficient source and proper surface marker for isolation of these cells would make them a good candidate for therapy.Main methodsWe have isolated 5.34?∗?106???2.04?∗?105/g viable cells from 35 heart tissue samples of 23 patients with congenital heart disease obtained during their heart surgery along with 6 samples from 3 normal subjects during cardiac biopsy.Key findingsAccording to FACS analysis, younger ages, atrial specimen and disease with increased pulmonary vascular resistance were associated with higher perc

Cardiovascular diseases hold the highest mortality rate among other illnesses which reveals the significance of current limitations in common therapies. Three-dimensional (3D) scaffolds have been utilized as potential therapies for treating heart failure following myocardial infarction (MI). In particular, native tissues have numerous properties that make them potentially useful scaffolding materials for recreating the native cardiac extracellular matrix (ECM). Here, we have developed a pericardium-derived scaffold that mimics the natural myocardial extracellular environment and investigated its properties for cardiac tissue engineering. Human pericardium membranes (PMs) were decellularized to yield 3D macroporous pericardium scaffolds (PSs

Objective: Cardiovascular diseases hold the highest mortality rate among other illnesses which reveals the significance of current limitations in common therapies. So recently, the role of three-dimensional (3D) scaffolds has been highlighted for heart failure post-myocardial infarction treatment. Natural-based scaffolds which resemble more to the damaged tissue of interest seem to be more suitable for necrotic cardiomyocytes replacement and restoring the damaged extracellular matrix (ECM). Here, we have evaluated the properties and potentials of a novel pericardium-derived scaffold for replacing the myocardium ECM. Materials and Methods: Following the decellularization of human pericardium membrane (PM), a 3D sponge pericardium scaffold (P

Objective: Increasing rate of morbidity and mortality by heart diseases all over the world attracted scientists' attention to this important medical case. In recent years regenerative medicine has been introduced as an alternative tool for heart repair; and cardiac stem cells (CSCs), precursor cells resident in heart tissue have been investigated as novel sources of heart cell therapy. Such patient derived stem cells need to be isolated from small heart biopsies and expanded in culture to reach the quantity which is required for cell therapy. Although various aspects of adult stem cell transplantation have been well studied, the effects of extensive sub-culturing on the characteristics and phenotype of these cells have remained elusive. Mat