In situ activated mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) by bioactive hydrogels for myocardial infarction treatment

J Mater Chem B. 2020 Sep 14;8(34):7713-7722. doi: 10.1039/d0tb01320j. Epub 2020 Jul 29.

Abstract

Stem-cell therapy has been proved as a promising strategy for myocardial infarction (MI) treatment. However, the therapeutic efficacy is mainly limited by the cellular activity of transplanted mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). In this study, a novel bioglass (BG)/γ-polyglutamic acid (γ-PGA)/chitosan (CS) hydrogel was obtained by in situ adding BG to stimulate the imine bond formation. And the effect of the composite hydrogel on MI therapeutic efficacy was evaluated in a rat acute myocardial infarction (AMI) model in vivo and the possible mechanism of the BG/γ-PGA/CS hydrogel for the stimulation of the intercellular interaction between MSCs and cardiomyocytes (CMs) was explored by a MSC and CM co-culture experiment in vitro. The implantation of the MSC loaded BG/γ-PGA/CS composite hydrogel in the mice AMI model showed a significant improvement in the therapeutic efficacy with improved cardiac function, attenuation of heart remodeling, reduced cardiomyocyte apoptosis and accelerated vascularization. The in vitro cell experiments demonstrated that the BG/γ-PGA/CS hydrogel activated the intercellular interaction between MSCs and CMs, which resulted in reduced cell apoptosis and enhanced angiogenesis. Silicate based bioactive hydrogels activated MSCs and cell-cell interactions in cardiac tissue after AMI and significantly enhanced the efficacy, which suggests that this bioactive hydrogel based approach is an effective way to enhance stem-cell therapy.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Apoptosis / drug effects
  • Cell Communication / drug effects
  • Chitosan / chemistry
  • Glass / chemistry
  • Hydrogels / chemistry
  • Hydrogels / pharmacology*
  • Imines / chemistry
  • Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation*
  • Mesenchymal Stem Cells / cytology
  • Mesenchymal Stem Cells / drug effects*
  • Mice
  • Myocardial Infarction / pathology
  • Myocardial Infarction / therapy*
  • Myocytes, Cardiac / drug effects
  • Myocytes, Cardiac / pathology
  • Polyglutamic Acid / chemistry

Substances

  • Hydrogels
  • Imines
  • Polyglutamic Acid
  • Chitosan