Lead Inventor:
Dr. Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic
Cell Delivery into Myocardium
Cardiovascular diseases are responsible for a preponderance of health problems in many countries. Cell and stem cell therapy are promising new treatment strategies for many cardiovascular diseases, such as acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and heart failure (HF), however the current methods to transplant cells into myocardium are hampered by low survival and retention of transplanted cells, resulting in limited beneficial effects.
This technology provides a novel platform for cell delivery onto the infarcted heart by a fully biological composite scaffold, which addresses several shortcomings associated with the current clinical paradigm of cell delivery.
Repairing Infarcted Tissue by Constructing Cell-Matrix Composite
This technology describes a method to generate fully decellularized scaffold of myocardium, and a method to construct a cell-matrix composite by overlaying decellularized scaffold with cells loaded in hydrogel and used as a patch to repair infarcted tissue. The biological composite constructed by this technology, maintains elements of the natural extracellular matrix as well as intact mechanical properties and greatly increases the number of cells retained after implantation, which promote the successful grafting of the patch.
In addition, it also provides a method to generate growth factor preconditioned human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) with arteriogenic potential. When implanted in the composite scaffold, these preconditioned cells greatly enhance vascular network formation in the infarct bed.
Applications:
• New cell therapy platform for cardiovascular diseases. The technology can also be extended to other cells of interest, to develop fully biological composite grafts, such as heart valves, vessel grafts.
• New stem cell preconditioning cocktail to generates MSCs with arteriogenic potential.
• 3 dimensional study model: The composite constructed by this technology can be used to conduct in vitro studies of the effects and mechanisms involved in cell-based heart repair.
Advantages:
• Improved cell delivery, retention and therapeutic effect for infarcted tissue repair.
• Fully biological composite scaffold with intact mechanical properties, matching the environment into which the cells are engrafted.
Patent Status: Patent Pending
Publications:
Biologic Scaffolds for Regenerative Medicine: Fifth Symposium February 2008
Licensing Status: Available for Licensing and Sponsored Research Support