Application of Hydrogels in Cardiac Regeneration

Abstract

Myocardial infarction (MI) is a leading cause of death globally. Due to limited cardiac regeneration, infarcted myocardial tissue is gradually replaced by cardiac fibrosis, causing cardiac dysfunction, arrhythmia, aneurysm, free wall rupture, and sudden cardiac death. Thus, the development of effective methods to promote cardiac regeneration is extremely important for MI treatment. In recent years, hydrogels have shown promise in various methods for cardiac regeneration. Hydrogels can be divided into natural and synthetic types. Different hydrogels have different features and can be cross-linked in various ways. Hydrogels are low in toxicity and highly stable. Since they have good biocompatibility, biodegradability, and transformability, moderate mechanical properties, and proper elasticity, hydrogels are promising biomaterials for promoting cardiac regeneration. They can be used not only as scaffolds for migration of stem cells, but also as ideal carriers for delivery of drugs, genetic materials, stem cells, growth factors, cytokines, and small molecules. In this review, the application of hydrogels in cardiac regeneration during or post-MI is discussed in detail. Hydrogels open a promising new area in cardiac regeneration for treating MI.

Keywords: Cardiac regeneration; Drug delivery system; Hydrogel; Myocardial infarction; Stem cell.

Fig. 1

Summary of features and applications of hydrogels in cardiac regeneration. The figure was created with BioRender.com. This picture is granted permission from BioRender for publication in Cardiology and Therapy. Abbreviations: PEG, poly(ethylene glycol); PGA, polyglycolic acid; PLA, polylactic acid; PLGA, polylactic-co-glycolic acid; PNIPAM, poly(N-isopropylacrylamide); PGCL, poly(glycolide-co-caprolactone)