Cardiac stem cells integrated into micro-needle patches to treat heart attacks

Scientists seeking to improve stem cell treatment options for heart attack survivors have developed a patch that better integrates stem cells into viable heart tissue. The patch features an arrangement of spinous micro-needles to "communicate" between the stem cells and the injured heart, a task that has not yet been accomplished in an internal organ. When tested in rats and pigs with an acute heart attack, the patch promoted healing by stimulating cardiac tissue development, reducing scarring and increasing cardiac function. These results suggest that this patch of cardiac stem cells could be a promising form of cardiac treatment in humans, as a result of additional testing. In the United States, more than 600,000 people suffer a heart attack each year and 36% of survivors have an increased risk of developing heart failure in the future. Stem cell therapy has been used to improve treatment options for survivors, but until now, the rate of retention of cardiac stem cells (SCC) was low in many birthing routes. To overcome this obstacle, Junnan Tang and his colleagues created a microneedle (MN) patch for therapeutic heart regeneration. Its biocompatible needles can penetrate the skin and serve as channels of communication between the patch and the heart, feeding the SCCs of the patch to the injured area for repair. In a rat heart attack model, the researchers placed a 0.5 cm by 0.5 centimeter MN-CSC patch containing rat SCCs directly onto the damaged area of ​​the rat heart during a period of one week. open heart surgery. The patch treatment reduces cardiac cell death and promotes the growth of myocytes – cells present in the muscle tissue of the heart – as well as the development of new cardiac tissues. The authors then validated their device in a pig – an animal with similar blood flow characteristics to that of humans – and this test confirmed the safety and biocompatibility of the MN-CSC patch. According to Tang et al., Future work should focus on less invasive ways of delivering the patch, rather than during open-heart surgery.

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