Innovative Bioengineering Paradigms for Cardiac Repair: Cell-Based and Cell-Free Approaches

Dear Colleagues,

Cardiovascular diseases resulting from myocardial infarction continue to pose a significant global threat to mortality. The quest for effective cardiac repair remains a paramount challenge in modern medicine, given the heart's limited regenerative capacity after injury. Importantly, the recent progress in bioengineering techniques has opened up new avenues for research and development in the realm of regenerative therapeutics. This interdisciplinary field seamlessly integrates principles from biology, engineering, and technology to design and develop innovative solutions for tissue repair, regeneration, and replacement.

Herein, we propose this Special Issue, entitled “Innovative Bioengineering Paradigms for Cardiac Repair: Cell-Based and Cell-Free Approaches”, of Bioengineering. With this Special Issue, our goal is to place the spotlight on interdisciplinary endeavors that explore innovative strategies for cardiac regenerative therapeutics and interventions. Overall, cell-based and cell-free approaches represent two dynamic paradigms in the realm of regenerative medicine. In cell-based approaches, the focus lies on harnessing the potential of external living cells, often through stem/progenitor cell transplantation or tissue engineering, to replenish the injured tissue and restore functionality. On the other hand, cell-free approaches leverage delivered genes, bioactive factors, extracellular vesicles, or biomaterials to reactivate internal regenerative responses. This dualistic exploration of cellular and acellular methods opens up new advances in the pursuit of effective and versatile solutions for tissue repair and regenerative therapies. Despite promising advancements, addressing remaining issues is crucial for clinical translation. Our collection of innovative research and translational studies aims to showcase a new wave of strategies for overcoming the complexities and challenges of heart regeneration.

We invite contributions of original research articles and reviews that cover, but are not limited to, the following topics:

• Discovery of new cell sources (adult stem/progenitor cells, iPSC derivatives, direct cell differentiation, genetic modifications, reprogramming, transdiffereniation, etc.) for tissue engineering or cell transplantation.
• Innovative biofabrication techniques, biomatrix, biomaterials, and 3D bioprinting for constructing cardiac tissues.
• Mechanism studies of cell–cell interactions, prevascularization, cell–matrix mechanosensing, and cell–environment communications within engineered tissues.
• New surgical procedures or preconditioning protective approaches for bioengineered cell or tissue transplantation.
• Exploration of delivering novel biomolecules, small molecules, growth factors, cytokines, reprogramming factors, or essential genes for promoting cardiac repair, reprogramming, or regeneration.
• Advancements of or new findings in viral vectors (such as nonintegrative AAVs) and potential safety issues for targeted delivering coding sequences or noncoding RNAs in the heart.
• Development of nonviral vectors such as nano-biomaterials and nanoparticles for delivering synthetic proteins, DNAs, RNAs, or drugs to enhance cardiomyocyte reprogramming, proliferation, or heart regeneration.
• Investigation of extracellular vesicles (purification, characterization, engineering, delivery, cell targeting, etc.) for heart repair or regeneration.
• Engineering of immunomodulatory approaches to regulate the host’s tissue microenvironment for enhancing functional integration with implanted cells or tissues.
• Personalized heart disease models (fabricated by cardiac tissue engineering using patient-derived cells) and therapeutic development.
• Assessment of the heart’s responses (neovascularization, angiogenesis, remodeling, fibrosis, scar formation, cell death, cell proliferation, immunomodulation, electrical coupling, excitability, arrhythmogenesis, tumorigenicity, etc.) after administrating cell-based or cell-free approaches.

We look forward to receiving your valuable contributions to this exciting Special Issue of Bioengineering.

Dr. Jialiang Liang
Dr. Xingyu He
Guest Editors

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• cardiac regeneration
• cardiac repair
• stem cells
• tissue engineering
• cell transplant
• gene delivery
• extracellular vesicles
• nanotechnology
• immunomodulation
• lineage reprogramming