Regenerative medicine in cardiovascular disease: from tissue enginering to tissue regeneration

Abstract

The general introduction in Chapter 1 of this thesis provides an overview of the emerging field of regenerative medicine, and its different areas of technology. Contemporary approaches to heart valve repair and replacement by mechanical and biological prosthesis, as well as their limitations are discussed. Furthermore, the novel approach of (stem)cell-based therapy in ischemic heart disease and a variety of potential cell types are described. In Part I of the thesis different methods to produce completely acellular porcine and rat aortic valve scaffolds for the purpose of creating a biological substitute that can restore, maintain, or improve normal function. In addition, the in vivo behavior of these valves was studied in a rat model. Subsequently, Part II of the thesis studied the in vivo behavior and functional improvement after transplantation of different human cell types in an animal model of acute myocardial infarction. Furthermore, the feasibility of combining cell therapy with gene-therapy was studied in this same model. Finally, in Part III different methods for cardiac phenotyping in mice were assessed and compared.