Delta-1 Functionalized Hydrogel Promotes hESC-Cardiomyocyte Graft Proliferation and Maintains Heart Function Post-Injury.

ABSTRACT: Current cell transplantation techniques are hindered by small graft size, requiring high cell doses to achieve therapeutic cardiac remuscularization. Enhancing the proliferation of transplanted human embryonic stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hESC-CMs) could address this, allowing an otherwise subtherapeutic cell dose to prevent disease progression after myocardial infarction. In this study, we designed a hydrogel that activates Notch signaling through 3D presentation of the Notch ligand Delta-1 to use as an injectate for transplanting hESC-CMs into the infarcted rat myocardium. After 4 weeks, hESC-CM proliferation increased 2-fold and resulted in a 3-fold increase in graft size with the Delta-1 hydrogel compared to controls. To stringently test the effect of Notch-mediated graft expansio

SUBMITTER: Gerbin KA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7225377 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature