Abstract
Cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of death in the developed world, accounting for more than 30% of all deaths. In a large proportion of these patients, acute myocardial infarction is usually the first manifestation, which might further progress to heart failure. In addition, the human heart displays a low regenerative capacity, leading to a loss of cardiomyocytes and persistent tissue scaring, which entails a morbid pathologic sequela. Novel therapeutic approaches are urgently needed. Stem cells, such as induced pluripotent stem cells or embryonic stem cells, exhibit great potential for cell-replacement therapy and an excellent tool for disease modeling, as well as pharmaceutical screening of novel drugs and their cardiac side effects. This review article covers not only the origin of stem cells but tries to summarize their translational potential, as well as potential risks and clinical translation.
Highlights
IntroductionCardiovascular diseases (CVDs) remain a plight to modern-day humans, accounting for over one-third of all deaths worldwide, according to recent World Health Organization (WHO) estimates [1]
Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) remain a plight to modern-day humans, accounting for over one-third of all deaths worldwide, according to recent World Health Organization (WHO) estimates [1].In the US alone, one person dies of CVD-related complications every 40 s, mostly ischemic attacks [2].To this day, catheter-based or surgical interventions, e.g., coronary bypass and implantation of assist devices, are by far the most widely applied clinical measures—albeit with several complications [3,4]
Stem cell (SC) technologies have emerged with a great promise that could be envisaged for almost all human ailments, most importantly for noncommunicable diseases characterized by organ dysfunction and/or degeneration
Summary
Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) remain a plight to modern-day humans, accounting for over one-third of all deaths worldwide, according to recent World Health Organization (WHO) estimates [1]. Stem cell (SC) technologies have emerged with a great promise that could be envisaged for almost all human ailments, most importantly for noncommunicable diseases characterized by organ dysfunction and/or degeneration. In this regard, CVDs are certainly the most attractive target for SC-based therapeutic approaches [7,8,9,10]. From a mere improvement of cardiac microenvironment, to partial regeneration and/or compensation of lost functional tissue, and ending with a complete fabrication of a surrogate heart, SCs have set the hopes high. Cells 2019, 8, 1530 research, highlighting milestone achievements in both basic and translational research, and expanding in particular on pluripotent SCs
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