Stem cells for myocardial tissue engineering

Abstract

Myocardial infarction is one of the most common heart diseases which are irreversible leading to progressive heart failure, mainly because cardiomyocytes possess limited intrinsic regenerative ca- pability to replace the lost cells. Stem cells can be driven to differentiate into cardiomyogenic line- ages and an understanding on the various strategies and mechanisms for cardiomyogenic differen-tiation is essential for evaluations of myocardial regeneration and recovery of heart function. Vari-ous strategies, both in vitro and in vivo , have been applied to stem cells for cardiomyogenic differ- entiation including molecular treatments, culture medium mediation, and chemical or physical stimulations. In this review, we discuss various strategies and mechanisms of five types of stem cells (mesenchymal stem cells, haematopoietic stem cells, adipose-derived stem cells, embryonic stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells) differentiating to cardiomyocytes, and the fabricationof bio-nanomaterials such as conductive polymers and injectables as cardiac tissue engineering sub- strates, as well as the potential techniques like electrical stimulation and bioreactors used to direct and control the cardiomyogenic differentiation of stem cells.