Construction of cardiac fibrosis for biomedical research

Abstract

Cardiac remodeling is critical for effective tissue recuperation, nevertheless, excessive formation and deposition of extracellular matrix components can result in the onset of cardiac fibrosis. Despite the emergence of novel therapies, there are still no lifelong therapeutic solutions for this issue. Understanding the detrimental cardiac remodeling may aid in the development of innovative treatment strategies to prevent or reverse fibrotic alterations in the heart. Further combining the latest understanding of disease pathogenesis with cardiac tissue engineering has provided the conversion of basic laboratory studies into the therapy of cardiac fibrosis patients as an increasingly viable prospect. This review presents the current main mechanisms and the potential tissue engineering of cardiac fibrosis. Approaches using biomedical materials‐based cardiac constructions are reviewed to consider key issues for simulating in vitro cardiac fibrosis, outlining a future perspective for preclinical applications.

Developing organs‐on‐chips for biomedical applications

“…With these efforts, organs‐on‐chip systems have demonstrated value in reappearing crucial structural and functional features of human organs. Therefore, organs‐on‐chips are applicable to investigate the underlying biological and pathogenesis mechanisms of specific organ/tissue models 60–62 . For example, Sances et al.…”