Functional Cardiac Biomaterials: Insights into Constructing a Vascularized Myocardial Tissue Surrogate.

PURPOSE: Myocardial infarction is a pathological condition caused by impaired blood flow to the heart and is recognized as a leading contributor to cardiovascular diseases. The treatment options for myocardial infarction are currently limited, emphasizing the necessity to develop tissue engineering strategies. Nevertheless, scaffold-based techniques suffer from a number of limitations including issues of compatibility of biomaterials, immune rejection, and scarring. This review provides elaborates existing techniques and requirements for developing effective vascularized constructs for cardiac repair.

METHODS

PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and CrossRef databases were searched for related scientific literature on the subject according to PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews). 93 relevant articles were selected.

RESULTS

Cardiac patches, injectable scaffolds, hydrogels, cell sheets, and decellularized constructs are studied to be effective solutions for myocardial repair. Literature survey reveals that vascular integration and construct survival might been hanced by endothelial progenitor cells, prevascularization, 3D bioprinting, nanotechnology, and engineered exosomes.

CONCLUSIONS

Biomimetic constructs for effective myocardial regeneration require appropriate biomaterials, growth factors, functional cells, and a stable vascular network.