Cardiac stem cell-loaded poly-lactic acid and fibrinoin scaffolds as devices for cardiac muscle tissue regeneration

The rapid translation of preclinical cell-based therapy to restore damaged myocardium has raised questions concerning the best cell type as well as the best delivery route. Intramyocardial injection of stem cells is by far the most-used delivery technique in preclinical studies. In the present study, we assessed the hypothesis that synthetic scaffolds designed to deliver cardiac progenitor cells in the infarcted region of the heart may induce a better differentiation into cardiomyocytes. For the synthesis of PDLLA scaffolds, the Poly (D, L lactic acid) (RESOMER® 207) polimer was used (6.7%) in Dicloromethane/Dimetilformamide (70/30, v/v). For the synthesis of fibrinoin scaffolds, degummed silk fibres were dried and dissolved into 9.3 m LiBr water solution (20% w/v). Scaffolds with different porosities, pore size, and properties were made by freeze-drying and salt-leaching. Scaffolds embedded with collagen I and cardiac progenitor cells were implanted in the subcutaneous dorsal region of athymic Nude-Foxn1nu mice. A foreign body reaction was observed when the scaffolds with or without cells were inoculated in the subcutaneous region of athymic mice