A Patch that could Help Heal Broken Hearts

From the ACS Press Room A Patch that could Help Heal Broken Hearts

“Cardiac Stromal Cell Patch Integrated with Engineered Microvessels Improves Recovery from Myocardial Infarction in Rats and Pigs” ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering

According to the American Heart Association, heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide in recent years. During a heart attack, or myocardial infarction (MI), a blocked artery and the resulting oxygen deprivation cause massive cardiac cell death, blood vessel impairment and inflammation. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering have developed a cardiac patch with tiny engineered blood vessels that improved recovery from MI in rats and pigs. To effectively treat MI, lost heart muscle tissue must regenerate and new blood vessels must form to restore oxygen and nutrients to cells. Scientists have tried to deA cardiac cell patch combines an engineered blood vessel network velop patches (red) with human cardiac stromal containing various cells (blue) in a 3D fibrin matrix, as therapeutic cells seen in this artist’s rendition. to treat MI, but so Credit: Adapted from ACS Biomateri- far most have als Science & Engineering 2020, DOI: been too cumber10.1021/acsbiomaterials.0c00942 some to make, or they don’t restore both cardiac muscle and blood supply to the injured site. Ke Cheng and colleagues previously developed a relatively easy-to-make pre-vascularized cardiac patch, which contained engineered microvessels in a fibrin gel spiked with cardiac stromal cells. When implanted into rats after an MI, the cells in the patch secreted growth factors that made cardiac muscle and blood vessels regrow. Now, the researchers wanted to test the patch further in rats, as well as in pigs, which have cardiovascular systems more similar to humans than those of rodents.

The researchers implanted the cardiac patch in rats that recently had a heart attack. Four weeks later, rats that received the patch had less scar tissue, increased cardiac muscle and improved cardiac pump function compared with untreated rats. The team observed similar effects in pigs that had undergone MI and were treated with the patches. The patch increased recruitment of the pigs’ progenitor cells to the damaged area and enhanced the growth of new blood vessels, as well as decreased cardiac cell death and suppressed inflammation. Although prior studies have used blood vessel-forming cells or natural blood vessels to vascularize cardiac patches, this study is the first to demonstrate the success of pre-vascularized cardiac stromal cell patches using microengineered synthetic blood vessels for treating MI in a large animal model. More studies on the mechanisms, safety and efficacy of patch repair are needed before the technology can be applied to humans, the researchers say. The authors acknowledge funding from the National Institutes of Health, the American Heart Association, the National Science Foundation, the North Carolina State University Chancellor’s Innovation Fund and the University of North Carolina General Assembly Research Opportunities Initiative .

REPORT ON OUR FALL ACS VIRTUAL COUNCIL MEETING

Reporter E. Thomas Strom

You faithful readers of The Southwest Retort elected for the Council Policy Committee will have noticed that there was no counci- were Mark D. Frishberg, Elizabeth M. Howlor’s report in the Retort on the Spring, 2020, son, Zaida C. Morales-Martinez, Margaret J. ACS National Meeting in Philadelphia. Schooler, and Jeanette M. Van Emon. The However, you would not have been surprised elected individuals for the Committee on at that omission, as the Philadelphia meeting Committees were Martha G. Hollomon, Diwas cancelled because of the Covid-19 pan- ane Krone, Sarah M. Mullins, Andrea B. demic. As spring ended and summer began, Twiss-Brooks, and Javier Vela. The elected it became clear that the pandemic was not members for the Committee on Nominations throttling down because of the warm weather. and Elections were Jetty L. Duffy-Matzner, Consequently, ACS changed the format for Kevin J. Edgar, Neil D. Jespersen, Julianne the August, 2020, ACS National Meeting in- M. D. Smist, and Linette M. Watkins. tended for San Francisco to an online format. Since the Council is an important governing Mary Anderson is our local representative on body of the ACS, this dictated that the Coun- the Membership Affairs Committee (MAC). cil itself should meet in an online fashion, Mary reports that MAC has been working for i.e., in a virtual manner. As this was a new some time in streamlining and updating procedure for the Council, ACS arranged for membership pricing. Stay tuned for exciting two online practice sessions before the actual news in this area from the next national ACS online meeting of Aug. 19th. All four of your meeting. DFW councilors, Mary Anderson, Jason McAfee, Linda Schultz, and Tom Strom, par- There were several key actions by the Counticipated in this new Council format. cil. On the recommendation of the Committee on Committees, and with the concurrence Much of of the Council Policy Committee, the Council the work of approved the Petition to Clarify Amendments ACS is to the Standing Rules and disbanded the Joint carried on Board-Council Committee on Chemical Abin and by stracts. This latter action is contingent on apcommit- proval by the Board of Directors. Several tees. The councilors argued from the floor against endpersonnel ing this Chem Abstracts Committee. On the for im- recommendation of the Committee on Interportant national Activities, and with the concurrence Council of the Council Policy Committee, Council committees approved the creation of an ACS Internationare elected by the Council itself from a slate al Chemical Sciences Chapter in Israel, conof qualified candidates. Typically five indi- tingent on approval by the Board of Direcviduals are chosen from a slate of ten. Those tors.