Innovative Bioengineering Paradigms for Cardiac Repair

Dear Colleagues,

Despite being the world's leading cause of death, myocardial infarction still lacks a curative treatment. Current therapies are palliative, and early cell-based approaches fell short by failing to address the complexity of cardiac repair. We propose a fundamental paradigm shift: moving from passive cell delivery to active, engineered instructive systems. This next-generation strategy leverages designed biomaterials and controlled signaling to create adaptive microenvironments that directly guide robust and functional regeneration, addressing the core limitation of prior tissue engineering efforts.

This Special Issue, ‘Innovative Bioengineering Paradigms for Cardiac Repair’, seeks to highlight and accelerate the convergence of cutting-edge bioengineering, advanced materials science, cellular biology, and translational medicine to create transformative solutions for heart regeneration. We aim to curate a collection of high-impact research that moves beyond conventional approaches, focusing on disruptive technologies that recapitulate the structural, functional, and biological complexity of the native myocardium.

We welcome contributions that address the fundamental challenges in the field: enhancing cell engraftment and survival, achieving electromechanical integration, developing biomimetic vascularization strategies, and creating predictive preclinical models. The scope is deliberately broad and interdisciplinary, encompassing everything from novel biomaterial design and fabrication to the clinical translation of engineered tissues.

Topics of Interest:

We invite the submission of original research articles, reviews, perspectives, and short communications on, but not limited to, the following themes:

1. Advanced Biomaterials and Scaffolds:

• Smart, responsive, and conductive biomaterials for cardiac patches.
• 4D printing and in situ forming hydrogels that adapt to the dynamic cardiac environment.
• Decellularized extracellular matrix (dECM) platforms and their functionalization.
• Nanofibrous and nanocomposite scaffolds for mechanical support and controlled signaling.

2. Cell-Based Engineering and Technologies:

• Directed differentiation of iPSCs into cardiac lineages and engineered heart tissues (EHTs).
• ʻOrgans-on-a-chipʼ and microphysiological systems for disease modeling and drug screening.
• 3D bioprinting of cardiac constructs with spatial cell organization.
• Exosome and cell-free therapeutic strategies derived from engineered cells.
• Delivery Systems and Controlled Release:
• Innovative delivery systems for cells, miRNAs, mRNAs, and therapeutic proteins.
• Sustained release of angiogenic, anti-fibrotic, or cardioprotective factors from engineered matrices.
• Targeting strategies for precise localization of therapeutics to the injured myocardium.

3. Instrumentation and Functional Integration:

• Bioelectronic interfaces and pacemaker-integrated engineered tissues.
• In vitro electromechanical maturation systems (bioreactors) for cardiac constructs.
• Non-invasive imaging and sensor technologies for monitoring implant function and integration.

4. Translation and Preclinical Modeling:

• Large-animal model studies of bioengineered cardiac repair.
• Immunomodulatory strategies and host–implant integration.
• Mechanisms of cardiomyocyte maturation and plasticity, immune modulation and inflammation-guided regeneration, and epigenetic and transcriptional control of cardiac repair.
• Regulatory pathways, scalable manufacturing (GMP), and commercialization challenges for cardiac bioengineering products.
• In silico modeling and AI-driven design of cardiac therapies.

Dr. Jialiang Liang
Guest Editor

Dr. Waqas Ahmad
Guest Editor Assistant
Email: ahmadws@ucmail.uc.edu
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, 231 Albert Sabin Way, Cincinnati, OH 45267, USA
Interests: stem cell; regenerative medicine; MSCs; iPSCs; cardiovascular diseases; cardiac regeneration; 3D organoids; cells reprograming; CRISPR

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