Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Hongyan Gao, Feiyu Yang, Kianoosh Sattari, Xian Du, Tianda Fu, Shuai Fu, Xiaomeng Liu, Jian Lin, Yubing Sun, Jun Yao
Summary: This study demonstrates integrated nanoelectronic sensors capable of simultaneously probing electrical and mechanical cellular responses. The sensors offer advantages in tracking and differentiating cell states, as well as decoding vector information in cellular motion. Through two-in-one converging integration, the sensors enable improved bioelectronic detections and reduced invasiveness.
Article
Physiology
Matias Mosqueira, Lisa-Mareike Scheid, Dominik Kiemel, Talisa Richardt, Mona Rheinberger, Dirk Ollech, Almut Lutge, Tim Heissenberg, Lena Pfitzer, Lisa Engelskircher, Umut Yildiz, Isabel Porth
Summary: This study elucidates the roles and signaling pathways of neuronal nitric oxide synthase and inducible nitric oxide synthase in muscle contraction, using myooids as an alternative model.
FRONTIERS IN PHYSIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Hauke Fender, Kim Walter, Aytug K. Kiper, Jelena Plackic, Theresa M. Kisko, Moria D. Braun, Rainer K. W. Schwarting, Susanne Rohrbach, Markus Woehr, Niels Decher, Jens Kockskaemper
Summary: CACNA1C gene is associated with neuropsychiatric and cardiac disease, and Cacna1c(+/-) rats are a newly developed model with a behavioral phenotype. This study reveals that Cacna1c(+/-) rats exhibit altered Ca2+ handling mechanisms in cardiac myocytes under basal conditions, and this alteration is further enhanced by the effect of isoprenaline.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Danielle Pretorius, Asher M. Kahn-Krell, Wesley C. LaBarge, Xi Lou, Jianyi Zhang
Summary: Human cardiac-muscle patches (hCMPs) constructed from induced pluripotent stem cells derived cardiomyocytes (iCMs) can replicate the genetics of individual patients, and thicker triple-layered hCMPs can be constructed using a layer-by-layer fabrication method. Stretching with electrical stimulation can enhance the biomolecular maturation and promote the development of Z-lines and gap junctions, resulting in longer sarcomeres.
Review
Polymer Science
Kaylee Meyers, Bruce P. Lee, Rupak M. Rajachar
Summary: Myocardial infarction can cause permanent damage to the heart, leading to cardiac failure. Current transplantation methods face issues such as donor shortages and complications. Polymeric scaffolds offer an alternative, but mechanical property mismatch and limited electrical conductivity are challenges to be addressed for clinical applicability.
Article
Cell & Tissue Engineering
Alicia J. Minor, Kareen L. K. Coulombe
Summary: This study develops a novel calcium conditioning protocol to maintain engineered cardiac tissues (ECT) in a physiological range of Ca2+ and assesses contractility. Lactate conditioning alters the metabolism of hiPSC-CMs and increases sensitivity to external Ca2+. These conditioning methods are important for advancing the application of engineered human cardiac tissue for regenerative therapy in vitro and in vivo.
STEM CELLS TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Kun Lu, Thomas Seidel, Xiaochun Cao-Ehlker, Tatjana Dorn, Aarif Mohamed Nazeer Batcha, Christine Maria Schneider, Marie Semmler, Tilmann Volk, Alessandra Moretti, Andreas Dendorfer, Roland Tomasi
Summary: Bio-engineered myocardium has the potential for myocardial physiology studies, but current protocols fall short of simulating postnatal myocardial growth conditions. A new approach using progressive stretch has been developed to improve the maturation of engineered heart tissue.
Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Dakshi Kochhar, Megan K. DeBari, Rosalyn D. Abbott
Summary: This review highlights the biophysical properties of silk as a polymeric biomaterial that can dynamically regulate cellular fates, affecting cell behaviors such as adhesion, proliferation, migration, and differentiation. The unique mechanical properties, bioactive component sequestration, degradability, well-defined architectures, and biocompatibility of silk play a crucial role in unlocking the body's inherent regenerative potential.
FRONTIERS IN BIOENGINEERING AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Cell Biology
Jianjun Li, Yufan Liu, Yijie Zhang, Bin Yao, Enhejirigala, Zhao Li, Wei Song, Yuzhen Wang, Xianlan Duan, Xingyu Yuan, Xiaobing Fu, Sha Huang
Summary: This review emphasizes the importance of understanding the biophysical and biochemical cues in guiding mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) behaviors, as well as integrating these cues into biomaterials to enhance the prospects of MSC applications.
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Pilar Montero-Calle, Maria Flandes-Iparraguirre, Konstantinos Mountris, Ana de la Nava, Nicolas Laita, Ricardo M. Rosales, Olalla Iglesias-Garcia, Elena M. de-Juan-Pardo, Felipe Atienza, Maria Eugenia Fernandez-Santos, Estefania Pena, Manuel Doblare, Juan J. Gavira, Francisco Fernandez-Aviles, Felipe Prosper, Esther Pueyo, Manuel M. Mazo
Summary: Biofabrication of human tissues has experienced significant growth, but challenges remain in generating cardiac tissue with adequate mechanical properties and predictable evolution. In this study, the researchers used MEW and hiPSC-derived cardiac cells to create fibre-reinforced human cardiac minitissues. The minitissues displayed advanced maturation, improved cellular alignment, and enhanced functional performance compared to conventional 2D controls. The researchers also developed computational models and simulations to predict the post-fabrication evolution of the cardiac minitissues.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Won Jin Kim, Geun Hyung Kim
Summary: The study involves inducing differentiation of human adipose-derived stem cells using muscle- and tendon-derived decellularized extracellular matrix bioinks, and fabricating myotendinous junction constructs through bioprinting. Results indicate that the bioprinted constructs promote differentiation of stem cells and show higher gene expression at the interface zone.
BIOENGINEERING & TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(2022)
Review
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Yuedan Li, Xiaozhong Qiu
Summary: Advances in cardiac tissue engineering have provided a new platform for addressing cardiac diseases. Conductive cardiac patches, as a novel therapeutic approach, may play a crucial role in cardiovascular events. This review systematically summarizes different conductive materials and discusses the fabrication and application of conductive patches.
WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS-NANOMEDICINE AND NANOBIOTECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Chaojie Yu, Zhiwei Yue, Mingyue Shi, Lijie Jiang, Shuang Chen, Mengmeng Yao, Qingyu Yu, Xiaojun Wu, Hong Zhang, Fanglian Yao, Changyong Wang, Hong Sun, Junjie Li
Summary: An injectable mechanical-electrical coupling hydrogel patch (MEHP) with self-adaptive, high adhesiveness, and electrical conductivity has been developed to restore cardiac electrical conduction and pulsatile function, showing potential in the clinical application of cardiac tissue engineering.
Article
Biology
Debao Guan, Hao Gao, Li Cai, Xiaoyu Luo
Summary: This study develops a new hybrid active contraction model for myocardial dynamics that combines the active-stress based Hill model and the active strain approach. The model demonstrates a high descriptive capability and accurately simulates cardiac dynamics. It incorporates both passive and active branches, with the active stress formulated using the active strain approach and considering length-dependence and force-velocity relationships. The study also highlights the tight interaction between length-dependence and force-velocity relationships and the potential of the hybrid model in personalized cardiac modeling and understanding multi-scale coupling in active contraction based on the sliding filament theory.
COMPUTERS IN BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Chikahiro Imashiro, Tatsuya Shimizu
Summary: Tissue engineering has been attracting significant attention since the 1980s, with cell sheet technology being a promising strategy to produce cell-dense tissues. Various techniques for fabricating and improving cell sheets have been studied, with the goal of mimicking physiological conditions and promoting vasculogenesis. This review highlights fundamental technologies and recent advances in cell-sheet-based tissue engineering, aiming to further develop tissue engineering applications.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Clinical Neurology
X. Zheng, L. Zhang, Y. Kuang, V. Venkataramani, F. Jin, K. Hein, M. P. Zafeiriou, C. Lenz, W. Moebius, E. Kilic, D. M. Hermann, M. S. Weber, H. Urlaub, W. -H. Zimmermann, M. Baehr, Thorsten R. Doeppner
Summary: Stem cells such as mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) enhance neurological recovery in preclinical stroke models by secreting extracellular vesicles (EVs), with neural progenitor cells (NPCs)-derived EVs showing therapeutic potential in reducing cell injury and promoting neuroregeneration in mice post-stroke. NPC-EVs delivery leads to increased blood concentrations of B and T lymphocytes without affecting cerebral cell counts, suggesting a potential contribution to reverting post-stroke immunosuppression. Furthermore, biodistribution analysis reveals the majority of NPC-EVs to be found in extracranial organs like the liver and lung after systemic administration.
TRANSLATIONAL STROKE RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Idan Redenski, Shaowei Guo, Majd Machour, Ariel Szklanny, Shira Landau, Ben Kaplan, Roberta Lock, Yankel Gabet, Dana Egozi, Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic, Shulamit Levenberg
Summary: Functional regeneration of complex large-scaled defects requires both soft- and hard-tissue grafts. Soft-tissue pedicles are often used to vascularize bony constructs. Pre-vascularization of the soft-tissue matrix using dental pulp stem cells and human adipose microvascular endothelial cells enhances vascular development within decellularized bones.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2021)
Review
Cell Biology
Bohao Liu, Bryan Wang, Xiaokan Zhang, Roberta Lock, Trevor Nash, Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic
Summary: This review discusses current microRNA-based therapeutic strategies, highlighting outcomes and limitations of key microRNAs and offering a perspective on the outlook of microRNA therapies for myocardial infarction.
SCIENCE TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Michael Wagner, Mirna S. Sadek, Nataliya Dybkova, Fleur E. Mason, Johann Klehr, Rebecca Firneburg, Eleder Cachorro, Kurt Richter, Erik Klapproth, Stephan R. Kuenzel, Kristina Lorenz, Jordi Heijman, Dobromir Dobrev, Ali El-Armouche, Samuel Sossalla, Susanne Kaemmerer
Summary: The study found that overexpression of PDE2 can reduce the likelihood of ventricular arrhythmia, mainly by preventing the increase of cellular triggers mediated by Epac and CaMKII, indicating that activating myocardial PDE2 may be a novel intracellular antiarrhythmic therapeutic strategy in heart failure.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Review
Cell & Tissue Engineering
Daniel Naveed Tavakol, Sharon Fleischer, Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic
Summary: Tissue engineering has matured significantly since the 1980s, with the ability to regenerate damaged organs and model human physiology. The use of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technologies and organ-on-a-chip systems enables patient-specific studies in organ regeneration and disease modeling, potentially realizing the translational potential of tissue engineering. Focus on combinatorial studies of human tissues at different scales, particularly in cardiac, respiratory, and hematopoietic systems, can contribute to advancements in regenerative therapies.
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Farah S. Raad, Taukeer A. Khan, Tilman U. Esser, James E. Hudson, Bhakti Irene Seth, Buntaro Fujita, Ravi Gandamala, Lutz F. Tietze, Wolfram H. Zimmermann
Summary: Human pluripotent stem cells have great potential in cardiovascular applications, with bone morphogenetic protein 4 playing a key role in cardiac mesoderm induction. Chalcones were identified as potential inducers of cardiac mesoderm, with 4'-hydroxychalcone showing effectiveness in deriving contractile cardiomyocytes.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Thomas Brock, Elisabeth Boudriot, Anke Klawitter, Marianne Grosser, Trang T. P. Nguyen, Sindy Giebe, Erik Klapproth, Achim Temme, Ali El-Armouche, Georg Breier
Summary: VE-cadherin enhances the adhesion of breast cancer cells to endothelial cells but does not affect their transmigration, indicating that cancer cell adhesion and incorporation are distinct processes governed by different molecular mechanisms.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Seyed Mohammad Mir, Jiawen Chen, Meghan R. Pinezich, John D. O'Neill, Sarah X. L. Huang, Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic, Jinho Kim
Summary: Recent advances in organ-on-chip and tissue engineering technologies have allowed for the development of in vitro tissue or organ constructs that mimic their in vivo counterparts. This study presents an imaging-guided bioreactor that enables monitoring of ex vivo airway tissues during in vitro manipulation and cultivation. By utilizing this platform, the researchers were able to partially remove the rat tracheal epithelium without disrupting the underlying tissue layers. The results demonstrate the potential of creating bioengineered in vitro airway tissue for biomedical applications.
Review
Engineering, Biomedical
Bryan Z. Wang, Lori J. Luo, Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic
Summary: EVs act as carriers of biological signals through RNA and protein export and delivery; they have been effectively used in preclinical studies to treat various diseases and their cargo sorting within EVs requires an understanding of cellular mechanisms; standardized bioengineering methods for therapeutic EV preparation will be needed for a well-defined clinical product.
ADVANCED HEALTHCARE MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Biomaterials
Jiawen Chen, Seyed Mohammad Mir, Meghan R. Pinezich, John D. O'Neill, Brandon A. Guenthart, Matthew Bacchetta, Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic, Sarah X. L. Huang, Jinho Kim
Summary: Injured or diseased airway epithelium can lead to lung function decline and incurable lung diseases. Bioengineered airway tissue constructs facilitate in vitro investigation of human lung diseases and accelerate the development of effective therapeutics.
ACS BIOMATERIALS SCIENCE & ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Biomaterials
Daniel Naveed Tavakol, Sharon Fleischer, Thomas Falcucci, Pamela L. Graney, Susan P. Halligan, David L. Kaplan, Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic
Summary: The field of tissue engineering has evolved to building human tissues for regenerative medicine and studying tissue disease, injury, and regeneration. Advances in bioengineering, material science, and stem cell biology have enabled major developments in this field.
ACS BIOMATERIALS SCIENCE & ENGINEERING
(2021)
Review
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Roberta Lock, Hadel Al Asafen, Sharon Fleischer, Manuel Tamargo, Yimu Zhao, Milica Radisic, Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic
Summary: Sex-related differences in health and disease are often overlooked in tissue engineering, particularly in cardiovascular research. These differences involve the nature of the heart muscle and cardiovascular disease research, which can be advanced by implementing sex-specific features at the cellular and tissue levels for disease treatment.
NATURE REVIEWS MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Richard Z. Zhuang, Roberta Lock, Bohao Liu, Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic
Summary: This perspective paper summarizes the important milestones in cardiac tissue engineering over the past two decades, pointing out opportunities and challenges for further advancement.
NATURE BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Sangkyun Cho, Dennis E. Discher, Kam W. Leong, Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic, Joseph C. Wu
Summary: This Perspective discusses the technologies and challenges in cardiac tissue engineering, and proposes strategies to overcome these challenges. Engineered cardiac tissues derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells offer unique opportunities for personalized disease modeling, drug discovery, and cardiac repair. However, there are still major obstacles to be addressed before the field can move towards commercial and clinical translation.
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Jiawen Chen, Seyed Mohammad Mir, Maria R. Hudock, Meghan R. Pinezich, Panpan Chen, Matthew Bacchetta, Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic, Jinho Kim
Summary: The airway epithelium acts as a protective barrier for the respiratory tract, but is often damaged by toxic materials or procedures. This study quantified the impact of acute airway epithelium injury on barrier functions, such as mucociliary clearance and junction formation.
APL BIOENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Lin-Lin Luo, Jie Xu, Bing-Qiao Wang, Chen Chen, Xi Chen, Qiu-Mei Hu, Yu-Qiu Wang, Wan-Yun Zhang, Wan-Xiang Jiang, Xin-Ting Li, Hu Zhou, Xiao Xiao, Kai Zhao, Sen Lin
Summary: A novel AAV serotype, AAVYC5, introduced in this study, showed more efficient transduction into multiple retinal layers compared to AAV2, and enabled successful delivery of anti-angiogenic molecules in mice and non-human primates.
