Image-guided optimization of regenerative graft attachment to the heart
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Tissue engineering offers great promise for regenerating damaged organs including the heart. Although direct attachment of grafts at the target site is possible during surgery, minimally invasive delivery and suture-free approaches could reduce patient discomfort and allow repeat administration. However, for the therapy to be effective it is essential that the graft is successfully delivered to the epicardium and retained on target.
Here, methacrylated alginate-based shape-memory patches labelled with 111InCl3 and loaded with luciferase expressing stem-cells were either injected towards the epicardium under ultrasound guidance or surgically grafted onto mouse hearts. Patch and cell location were serially tracked using SPECT-CT and bioluminescence imaging.
Radiolabelling of shape-memory patches permitted serial tracking of graft location for seven days in-vivo, and revealed that injected patches rarely attached on-target whilst surgically implanted patches rapidly detached from the epicardium. In-vivo imaging was then used to evaluate modifications to biomaterial formulation and patch attachment strategies. This ultimately resulted in effective, suture-free surgical attachment of chitosan-coated patches loaded with luciferase-expressing human embryonic stem cell-derived epicardial cells onto the heart, illustrating a model therapeutic.
This translational imaging approach facilitates iterative optimization of a novel biomaterial and could have wide-reaching applications for enhancing a range of regenerative therapies.
Here, methacrylated alginate-based shape-memory patches labelled with 111InCl3 and loaded with luciferase expressing stem-cells were either injected towards the epicardium under ultrasound guidance or surgically grafted onto mouse hearts. Patch and cell location were serially tracked using SPECT-CT and bioluminescence imaging.
Radiolabelling of shape-memory patches permitted serial tracking of graft location for seven days in-vivo, and revealed that injected patches rarely attached on-target whilst surgically implanted patches rapidly detached from the epicardium. In-vivo imaging was then used to evaluate modifications to biomaterial formulation and patch attachment strategies. This ultimately resulted in effective, suture-free surgical attachment of chitosan-coated patches loaded with luciferase-expressing human embryonic stem cell-derived epicardial cells onto the heart, illustrating a model therapeutic.
This translational imaging approach facilitates iterative optimization of a novel biomaterial and could have wide-reaching applications for enhancing a range of regenerative therapies.
Date Issued
2026-09-01
Date Acceptance
2026-03-23
Citation
Biomaterials, 2026, 332
ISSN
0142-9612
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Journal / Book Title
Biomaterials
Volume
332
Copyright Statement
© 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/41905218
PII: S0142-9612(26)00184-5
Subjects
Biomaterials
Cardiac regeneration
Image guidance
Preclinical models
SPECT
Animals
Humans
Mice
Heart
Pericardium
Regeneration
Tissue Engineering
Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
Netherlands
Article Number
124160
Date Publish Online
2026-03-24