Electrical and Mechanical Strategies to Enable Cardiac Repair and Regeneration

IEEE Rev Biomed Eng. 2015:8:114-24. doi: 10.1109/RBME.2015.2431681. Epub 2015 May 11.

Abstract

Inadequate replacement of lost ventricular myocardium from myocardial infarction leads to heart failure. Investigating the regenerative capacity of mammalian hearts represents an emerging direction for tissue engineering and cell-based therapy. Recent advances in stem cells hold promise to restore cardiac functions. However, embryonic or induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes lack functional phenotypes of the native myocardium, and transplanted tissues are not fully integrated for synchronized electrical and mechanical coupling with the host. In this context, this review highlights the mechanical and electrical strategies to promote cardiomyocyte maturation and integration, and to assess the functional phenotypes of regenerating myocardium. Simultaneous microelectrocardiogram and high-frequency ultrasound techniques will also be introduced to assess electrical and mechanical coupling for small animal models of heart regeneration.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cells, Cultured
  • Heart / physiology*
  • Humans
  • Mice
  • Myocytes, Cardiac* / cytology
  • Myocytes, Cardiac* / physiology
  • Regeneration / physiology*
  • Stem Cell Transplantation*
  • Tissue Engineering / methods*