Human iPS cell-engineered cardiac tissue sheets with cardiomyocytes and vascular cells for cardiac regeneration

Sci Rep. 2014 Oct 22:4:6716. doi: 10.1038/srep06716.

Abstract

To realize cardiac regeneration using human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs), strategies for cell preparation, tissue engineering and transplantation must be explored. Here we report a new protocol for the simultaneous induction of cardiomyocytes (CMs) and vascular cells [endothelial cells (ECs)/vascular mural cells (MCs)], and generate entirely hiPSC-engineered cardiovascular cell sheets, which showed advantageous therapeutic effects in infarcted hearts. The protocol adds to a previous differentiation protocol of CMs by using stage-specific supplementation of vascular endothelial cell growth factor for the additional induction of vascular cells. Using this cell sheet technology, we successfully generated physically integrated cardiac tissue sheets (hiPSC-CTSs). HiPSC-CTS transplantation to rat infarcted hearts significantly improved cardiac function. In addition to neovascularization, we confirmed that engrafted human cells mainly consisted of CMs in >40% of transplanted rats four weeks after transplantation. Thus, our HiPSC-CTSs show promise for cardiac regenerative therapy.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Differentiation / genetics
  • Endothelial Cells / cytology
  • Endothelial Cells / transplantation
  • Heart*
  • Humans
  • Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells / cytology*
  • Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells / transplantation
  • Myocardial Infarction / pathology
  • Myocardial Infarction / therapy
  • Myocytes, Cardiac / cytology*
  • Myocytes, Cardiac / transplantation
  • Rats
  • Regeneration*
  • Tissue Engineering