Cell Therapy for Cardiac Disease

A special issue of Pharmaceuticals (ISSN 1424-8247). This special issue belongs to the section "Biopharmaceuticals".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 May 2025 | Viewed by 5794

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Physiology I, University of Bonn, Nußallee 11, 53115 Bonn, Germany
Interests: cardiovascular physiology; cardiomyocytes; hiPSC-derived cardiomyocytes; patch clamp; GPCR signaling

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Via Accademia Albertina 13, 10123 Turin, Italy
Interests: cardiovascular physiology,; cardiomyocytes; hiPSC-derived cardiomyocytes; cellular metabolism; cardioprotection

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) remain a leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally, demanding innovative therapeutic strategies beyond traditional pharmacological interventions. Cell-based therapies, particularly those utilizing human-derived stem cells, offer a promising avenue for personalized medicine approaches to cardiac repair and regeneration. This Special Issue focuses on the translational potential of various stem cell types in addressing the unmet clinical needs in cardiac disease. We welcome contributions exploring the entire spectrum of cell therapy research, from the fundamental biology of stem cell differentiation and characterization to preclinical and clinical applications.

This includes, but is not limited to, the following:

  • Stem cell sources: the investigation of diverse stem cell sources, including induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), embryonic stem cells (ESCs), mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), and cardiac progenitor cells (CPCs), and their suitability for cardiac repair.
  • Differentiation and characterization: studies focusing on optimizing differentiation protocols to generate functional cardiomyocytes, endothelial cells, and other cardiac cell types, as well as a comprehensive characterization of their phenotype and functionality.
  • Delivery methods: research exploring efficient and safe delivery strategies for stem cells, including intramyocardial injection, intravenous infusion, and biomaterial-based approaches.
  • Preclinical studies: in vitro and in vivo studies evaluating the efficacy and safety of stem cell therapies in relevant animal models of cardiac disease.
  • Clinical trials: reports on ongoing or completed clinical trials examining the therapeutic potential of stem cell therapies for various cardiac conditions, such as myocardial infarction, heart failure, and congenital heart defects.
  • Drug screening and development: exploration of the use of stem cell-derived models for drug screening, toxicity assessment, and the identification of novel therapeutic targets.
  • Challenges and future directions: discussions on the current limitations of stem cell therapies and potential strategies to overcome them, as well as future directions for the field.

We encourage submissions of original research articles, reviews, and perspectives that advance our understanding and application of cell-based therapies for cardiac disease.

Dr. Daniela Malan
Dr. Giulia Querio
Guest Editors

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 short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Pharmaceuticals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2900 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

  • cell therapy
  • cardiac disease
  • stem cells
  • induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs)
  • embryonic stem cells (ESCs)
  • mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs)
  • cardiac progenitor cells (CPCs)
  • myocardial infarction
  • heart failure
  • regenerative medicine
  • cardiovascular regeneration
  • drug screening
  • personalized medicine
  • cell differentiation
  • cell delivery
  • clinical trials

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.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Review

15 pages, 1041 KiB  
Review
The Pathogenic Mechanisms of and Novel Therapies for Lamin A/C-Related Dilated Cardiomyopathy Based on Patient-Specific Pluripotent Stem Cell Platforms and Animal Models
by Xin-Yi Wu, Yee-Ki Lee, Yee-Man Lau, Ka-Wing Au, Yiu-Lam Tse, Kwong-Man Ng, Chun-Ka Wong and Hung-Fat Tse
Pharmaceuticals 2024, 17(8), 1030; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph17081030 - 5 Aug 2024
Viewed by 2802
Abstract
Variants (pathogenic) of the LMNA gene are a common cause of familial dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), which is characterised by early-onset atrioventricular (AV) block, atrial fibrillation and ventricular tachyarrhythmias (VTs), and progressive heart failure. The unstable internal nuclear lamina observed in LMNA-related DCM [...] Read more.
Variants (pathogenic) of the LMNA gene are a common cause of familial dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), which is characterised by early-onset atrioventricular (AV) block, atrial fibrillation and ventricular tachyarrhythmias (VTs), and progressive heart failure. The unstable internal nuclear lamina observed in LMNA-related DCM is a consequence of the disassembly of lamins A and C. This suggests that LMNA variants produce truncated or alternative forms of protein that alter the nuclear structure and the signalling pathway related to cardiac muscle diseases. To date, the pathogenic mechanisms and phenotypes of LMNA-related DCM have been studied using different platforms, such as patient-specific induced pluripotent stem-cell-derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CMs) and transgenic mice. In this review, point variants in the LMNA gene that cause autosomal dominantly inherited forms of LMNA-related DCM are summarised. In addition, potential therapeutic targets based on preclinical studies of LMNA variants using transgenic mice and human iPSC-CMs are discussed. They include mitochondria deficiency, variants in nuclear deformation, chromatin remodelling, altered platelet-derived growth factor and ERK1/2-related pathways, and abnormal calcium handling. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cell Therapy for Cardiac Disease)
Show Figures

Figure 1

26 pages, 2197 KiB  
Review
Differentiation of Pluripotent Stem Cells for Disease Modeling: Learning from Heart Development
by Congwu Chi, Truman J. Roland and Kunhua Song
Pharmaceuticals 2024, 17(3), 337; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph17030337 - 5 Mar 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2206
Abstract
Heart disease is a pressing public health problem and the leading cause of death worldwide. The heart is the first organ to gain function during embryogenesis in mammals. Heart development involves cell determination, expansion, migration, and crosstalk, which are orchestrated by numerous signaling [...] Read more.
Heart disease is a pressing public health problem and the leading cause of death worldwide. The heart is the first organ to gain function during embryogenesis in mammals. Heart development involves cell determination, expansion, migration, and crosstalk, which are orchestrated by numerous signaling pathways, such as the Wnt, TGF-β, IGF, and Retinoic acid signaling pathways. Human-induced pluripotent stem cell-based platforms are emerging as promising approaches for modeling heart disease in vitro. Understanding the signaling pathways that are essential for cardiac development has shed light on the molecular mechanisms of congenital heart defects and postnatal heart diseases, significantly advancing stem cell-based platforms to model heart diseases. This review summarizes signaling pathways that are crucial for heart development and discusses how these findings improve the strategies for modeling human heart disease in vitro. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cell Therapy for Cardiac Disease)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop