title: Direct Mechanical Stimulation of Stem Cells: A Beating Electromechanically Active Scaffold for Cardiac Tissue Engineering.
abstract: The combination of stem cell therapy with a supportive scaffold is a promising approach to improving cardiac tissue engineering. Stem cell therapy can be used to repair nonfunctioning heart tissue and achieve myocardial regeneration, and scaffold materials can be utilized in order to successfully deliver and support stem cells in vivo. Current research describes passive scaffold materials; here an electroactive scaffold that provides electrical, mechanical, and topographical cues to induced human pluripotent stem cells (iPS) is presented. The poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) fiber scaffold coated with conductive polymer polypyrrole (PPy) is capable of delivering direct electrical and mechanical stimulation to the iPS. The electroactive scaffolds demonstrate no cytotoxic effects on the iPS as well as an increased expression of cardiac markers for both stimulated and unstimulated protocols. This study demonstrates the first application of PPy as a supportive electroactive material for iPS and the first development of a fiber scaffold capable of dynamic mechanical actuation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, Linköping University, 581 83, Linköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gelmi
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Division of Cell Biology, Linköping University Hospital, 581 85, Linköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: Artur
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cieslar-Pobuda
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Linköping University Hospital, 581 85, Linköping, Sweden.|Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, 581 85, Linköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: Ebo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: de Muinck
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Division of Cell Biology, Linköping University Hospital, 581 85, Linköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: Marek
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Los
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Linkoping University, 581 85, Linköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: Mehrdad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rafat
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, Linköping University, 581 83, Linköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: Edwin W H
authors.initials: EW
authors.lastname: Jager
mesh_terms: D000943:Antigens, Differentiation / Q000096:biosynthesis; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D057026:Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000737:chemistry; D009200:Myocardial Contraction; D009206:Myocardium / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D011100:Polyglycolic Acid / Q000737:chemistry; D000077182:Polylactic Acid-Polyglycolic Acid Copolymer; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry; D011758:Pyrroles / Q000737:chemistry; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000943:Antigens, Differentiation; D011108:Polymers; D011758:Pyrroles; D000077182:Polylactic Acid-Polyglycolic Acid Copolymer; D011100:Polyglycolic Acid; C067635:polypyrrole; D019344:Lactic Acid
keywords: actuators; conductive polymers; scaffolds; stem cells; tissue engineering