New Therapeutic Approaches to Cardiac Repair
A special issue of Cells (ISSN 2073-4409).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 October 2026 | Viewed by 914
Editor
Interests: cardiac regeneration and blood brain barrier integrity studies
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Emerging genetic and RNA platforms are redefining cardiac repair, from symptom management to true myocardial regeneration. CRISPR systems—now extending to base/prime editing and CRISPR a / i (CRISPR activation, CRISPR interference)—enable the precise correction or silencing of cardiomyopathy drivers and the re-engagement of regenerative programs in situ, with improved delivery via adeno-associated viruses and lipid nanoparticles (LNPs). Modified mRNA therapies entail the transient, controllable expression of pro-repair factors (e.g., angiogenic or cell-cycle cues) and are progressing from preclinical models toward early clinical evaluation in cardiovascular disease. Circular RNA (circRNA) therapeutics allow durable protein expression with lower innate immunogenicity and can be engineered to modulate death and stress pathways central in ischemic injury and remodeling. Beyond nucleic acids, engineered extracellular vesicles/exosomes function as biocompatible delivery shuttles and paracrine modulators that reprogram inflammation and metabolism after infarction. Parallel tissue-level strategies—the direct reprogramming of resident fibroblasts into induced cardiomyocytes and next-generation epicardial patches (including 3D-bioprinted and engineered heart muscle grafts)—are designed to remuscularize the scarred myocardium and restore pump function. The pathways of these bench-to-bedside modalities, coupled with image-guided targeting and smart biomaterials, ultimately converge toward the goal of precise gene/RNA control, targeted delivery, and structural rebuilding to achieve lasting cardiac repair.
Dr. Dinakar Iyer
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Cells is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- cardiac regeneration
- CRISPR/base editing
- mRNA therapeutics
- circular RNA (circRNA)
- lipid nanoparticles (LNPs)
- engineered exosomes/extracellular vesicles
- direct cardiac reprogramming
- engineered heart muscle/3D cardiac patches
- myocardial infarction repair
- translational cardiology
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
