Recent Advances in Tissue-Engineered Cardiac Scaffolds—The Progress and Gap in Mimicking Native Myocardium Mechanical Behaviors
Year: 2023
Type: review
Abstract: Heart failure is the leading cause of death in the US and worldwide. Despite modern therapy, challenges remain to rescue the damaged organ that contains cells with a very low proliferation rate after birth. Developments in tissue engineering and regeneration offer new tools to investigate the pathology of cardiac diseases and develop therapeutic strategies for heart failure patients. Tissue -engineered cardiac scaffolds should be designed to provide structural, biochemical, mechanical, and/or electrical properties similar to native myocardium tissues. This review primarily focuses on the mechanical behaviors of cardiac scaffolds and their significance in cardiac research. Specifically, we summarize the recent development of synthetic (including hydrogel) scaffolds that have achieved various types of mechanical behavior-nonlinear elasticity, anisotropy, and viscoelasticity-all of which are characteristic of the myocardium and heart valves. For each type of mechanical behavior, we review the current fabrication methods to enable the biomimetic mechanical behavior, the advantages and limitations of the existing scaffolds, and how the mechanical environment affects biological responses and/or treatment outcomes for cardiac diseases. Lastly, we discuss the remaining challenges in this field and suggestions for future directions to improve our understanding of mechanical control over cardiac function and inspire better regenerative therapies for myocardial restoration.
DOI: 10.3390/jfb14050269
Authors: Somayeh Baghersad, Abinaya Sathish Kumar, Matt J. Kipper, Ketul Popat, Zhijie Wang
Institution: Colorado State University
Language: English
Subfield: Surgery
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,224
Funder: Colorado State University
OpenAlex ID: W4376273586