Browsing by Author "Ligler, Frances S"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4

Open Access
Biomimetics: Platelet-Inspired Nanocells for Targeted Heart Repair After Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury (Adv. Funct. Mater. 4/2019)
(Advanced Functional Materials, 2019-01) Su, Teng; Huang, Ke; Ma, Hong; Liang, Hongxia; Dinh, Phuong‐Uyen; Chen, Justin; Shen, Deliang; Allen, Tyler A; Qiao, Li; Li, Zhenhua; Hu, Shiqi; Cores, Jhon; Frame, Brianna N; Young, Ashlyn T; Yin, Qi; Liu, Jiandong; Qian, Li; Caranasos, Thomas G; Brudno, Yevgeny; Ligler, Frances S; Cheng, Ke
Open Access
Cardiac Stem Cell Patch Integrated with Microengineered Blood Vessels Promotes Cardiomyocyte Proliferation and Neovascularization after Acute Myocardial Infarction.
(ACS applied materials & interfaces, 2018-10) Su, Teng; Huang, Ke; Daniele, Michael A; Hensley, Michael Taylor; Young, Ashlyn T; Tang, Junnan; Allen, Tyler A; Vandergriff, Adam C; Erb, Patrick D; Ligler, Frances S; Cheng, Ke
Cardiac stem cell (CSC) therapy has shown preclinical and clinical evidence for ischemic heart repair but is limited by low cellular engraftment and survival after transplantation. Previous versions of the cardiac patch strategy improve stem cell engraftment and encourage repair of cardiac tissue. However, cardiac patches that can enhance cardiomyogenesis and angiogenesis at the injured site remain elusive. Therapies that target cardiomyocyte proliferation and new blood vessel formation hold great potential for the protection against acute myocardial infarction (MI). Here, we report a new strategy for creating a vascularized cardiac patch in a facile and modular fashion by leveraging microfluidic hydrodynamic focusing to construct the biomimetic microvessels (BMVs) that include human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) lining the luminal surface and then encapsulating the BMVs in a fibrin gel spiked with human CSCs. We show that the endothelialized BMVs mimicked the natural architecture and function of capillaries and that the resultant vascularized cardiac patch (BMV-CSC patch) exhibited equivalent release of paracrine factors compared to those of coculture of genuine human CSCs and HUVECs after 7 days of in vitro culture. In a rat model of acute MI, the BMV-CSC patch therapy induced profound mitotic activities of cardiomyocytes in the peri-infarct region 4 weeks post-treatment. A significant increase in myocardial capillary density was noted in the infarcted hearts that received BMV-CSC patch treatment compared to the infarcted hearts treated with conventional CSC patches. The striking therapeutic benefits and the fast and facile fabrication of the BMV-CSC patch make it promising for practical applications. Our findings suggest that the BMV-CSC patch strategy may open up new possibilities for the treatment of ischemic heart injury.
Open Access
Cardiac Stromal Cell Patch Integrated with Engineered Microvessels Improves Recovery from Myocardial Infarction in Rats and Pigs.
(ACS biomaterials science & engineering, 2020-11) Su, Teng; Huang, Ke; Mathews, Kyle G; Scharf, Valery F; Hu, Shiqi; Li, Zhenhua; Frame, Brianna N; Cores, Jhon; Dinh, Phuong-Uyen; Daniele, Michael A; Ligler, Frances S; Cheng, Ke
The vascularized cardiac patch strategy is promising for ischemic heart repair after myocardial infarction (MI), but current fabrication processes are quite complicated. Vascularized cardiac patches that can promote concurrent restoration of both the myocardium and vasculature at the injured site in a large animal model remain elusive. The safety and therapeutic benefits of a cardiac stromal cell patch integrated with engineered biomimetic microvessels (BMVs) were determined for treating MI. By leveraging a microfluidic method employing hydrodynamic focusing, we constructed the endothelialized microvessels and then encapsulated them together with therapeutic cardiosphere-derived stromal cells (CSCs) in a fibrin gel to generate a prevascularized cardiac stromal cell patch (BMV-CSC patch). We showed that BMV-CSC patch transplantation significantly promoted cardiac function, reduced scar size, increased viable myocardial tissue, promoted neovascularization, and suppressed inflammation in rat and porcine MI models, demonstrating enhanced therapeutic efficacy compared to conventional cardiac stromal cell patches. BMV-CSC patches did not increase renal and hepatic toxicity or exhibit immunogenicity. We noted a significant increase in endogenous progenitor cell recruitment to the peri-infarct region of the porcine hearts treated with BMV-CSC patch as compared to those that received control treatments. These findings establish the BMV-CSC patch as a novel engineered-tissue therapeutic for ischemic tissue repair.
Open Access
Platelet-Inspired Nanocells for Targeted Heart Repair After Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury.
(Advanced functional materials, 2019-01) Su, Teng; Huang, Ke; Ma, Hong; Liang, Hongxia; Dinh, Phuong-Uyen; Chen, Justin; Shen, Deliang; Allen, Tyler A; Qiao, Li; Li, Zhenhua; Hu, Shiqi; Cores, Jhon; Frame, Brianna N; Young, Ashlyn T; Yin, Qi; Liu, Jiandong; Qian, Li; Caranasos, Thomas G; Brudno, Yevgeny; Ligler, Frances S; Cheng, Ke
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality worldwide. While reperfusion therapy is vital for patient survival post-heart attack, it also causes further tissue injury, known as myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury in clinical practice. Exploring ways to attenuate I/R injury is of clinical interest for improving post-ischemic recovery. A platelet-inspired nanocell (PINC) that incorporates both prostaglandin E2 (PGE2)-modified platelet membrane and cardiac stromal cell-secreted factors to target the heart after I/R injury is introduced. By taking advantage of the natural infarct-homing ability of platelet membrane and the overexpression of PGE2 receptors (EPs) in the pathological cardiac microenvironment after I/R injury, the PINCs can achieve targeted delivery of therapeutic payload to the injured heart. Furthermore, a synergistic treatment efficacy can be achieved by PINC, which combines the paracrine mechanism of cell therapy with the PGE2/EP receptor signaling that is involved in the repair and regeneration of multiple tissues. In a mouse model of myocardial I/R injury, intravenous injection of PINCs results in augmented cardiac function and mitigated heart remodeling, which is accompanied by the increase in cycling cardiomyocytes, activation of endogenous stem/progenitor cells, and promotion of angiogenesis. This approach represents a promising therapeutic delivery platform for treating I/R injury.