Whole-Heart Tissue Engineering and Cardiac Patches: Challenges and Promises

Despite all the advances in preventing, diagnosing, and treating cardiovascular disorders, they still account for a significant part of mortality and morbidity worldwide. The advent of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine has provided novel therapeutic approaches for the treatment of various diseases. Tissue engineering relies on three pillars: scaffolds, stem cells, and growth factors. Gene and cell therapy methods have been introduced as primary approaches to cardiac tissue engineering. Although the application of gene and cell therapy has resulted in improved regeneration of damaged cardiac tissue, further studies are needed to resolve their limitations, enhance their effectiveness, and translate them into the clinical setting. Scaffolds from synthetic, natural, or decellularized sources have provided desirable characteristics for the repair of cardiac tissue. Decellularized scaffolds are widely studied in heart regeneration, either as cell-free constructs or cell-seeded platforms. The application of human- or animal-derived decellularized heart patches has promoted the regeneration of heart tissue through in vivo and in vitro studies. Due to the complexity of cardiac tissue engineering, there is still a long way to go before cardiac patches or decellularized whole-heart scaffolds can be routinely used in clinical practice. This paper aims to review the decellularized whole-heart scaffolds and cardiac patches utilized in the regeneration of damaged cardiac tissue. Moreover, various decellularization methods related to these scaffolds will be discussed.

Automated summary

Despite advancements in cardiovascular disease treatment, it still remains a major cause of death and illness worldwide. Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine offer new therapeutic approaches, relying on scaffolds, stem cells, and growth factors. Gene and cell therapy have shown promise in regenerating damaged cardiac tissue, but further research is needed to address limitations and improve their effectiveness for clinical use. Decellularized scaffolds from synthetic, natural, or animal sources have been widely studied for heart regeneration, but their clinical application still faces challenges. This paper reviews decellularized whole-heart scaffolds and cardiac patches used in the regeneration of damaged cardiac tissue and discusses various decellularization methods.