title: Tissue engineering techniques in cardiac repair and disease modelling.
abstract: Cell therapy has been proposed to treat patients with end-stage heart failure. However, it has been suggested that the significant mechanical forces in an often ischaemic, inflamed, biochemically hostile environment may cause poor cell survival and retention. It is hypothesised that tissue engineering techniques could be used to modify the environment to improve the efficacy of cell therapy. Similarly, it has been suggested that tissue engineering technology could be used to mature the phenotype of immature cardiomyocytes in vitro, making them more useful disease models. In this review we will briefly discuss key tissue engineering techniques and principles that can be used to facilitate cell therapy, and modify the phenotype of immature cardiomyocytes and stem cells.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.forename: Hannah
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Barratt
authors.forename: Themistoklis
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Prodromakis
authors.affiliation: Reader in Cardiac Electrophysiology, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, 4th Floor Imperial Centre for Translational and Experimental Medicine, Hammersmith Campus, Du Cane Rd, London W12 0NN. c.terracciano@imperial.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Cesare M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Terracciano
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D032383:Myocytes, Cardiac / Q000502:physiology* / Q000637:transplantation*; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends