Bioengineering and Stem Cell Technology in the Treatment of Congenital Heart Disease

Alexis Bosman; Michael J Edel; Gillian Blue; Rodney J Dilley; Richard P Harvey; David S Winlaw

doi:10.3390/jcm4040768

Bioengineering and Stem Cell Technology in the Treatment of Congenital Heart Disease

J Clin Med. 2015 Apr 22;4(4):768-81. doi: 10.3390/jcm4040768.

Authors

Alexis Bosman^{1

2}, Michael J Edel^{2

3

4

5

6}, Gillian Blue^{7

8}, Rodney J Dilley⁹, Richard P Harvey^{1

2}, David S Winlaw^{10

11}

Affiliations

¹ Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, Lowy Packer Building, 405 Liverpool St., Darlinghurst NSW 2010, Australia. [email protected].
² St. Vincent's Clinical School and School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Kensington NSW 2052, Australia. [email protected].
³ Control of Pluripotency Laboratory, Department of Physiological Sciences I, Faculty of Medicine, University of Barcelona, Hospital Clinic, Casanova 143, 08036 Barcelona, Spain. [email protected].
⁴ Senior Research Fellow, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney NSW 2006, Australia. [email protected].
⁵ School of Anatomy Physiology & Human Biology and The Harry Perkins Institute for Medical Research (CCTRM), Senior Research Fellow at the University of Western Australia, Crawley WA 6009, Australia. [email protected].
⁶ International Research Fellow, Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, Darlinghurst NSW 2010, Australia. [email protected].
⁷ Heart Centre for Children, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Westmead NSW 2145, Australia. [email protected].
⁸ Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney NSW 2006, Australia. [email protected].
⁹ Ear Science Institute Australia, Centre for Cell Therapy and Regenerative Medicine and School of Surgery, University of Western Australia, Nedlands WA 6009, Australia. [email protected].
¹⁰ Heart Centre for Children, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Westmead NSW 2145, Australia. [email protected].
¹¹ Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney NSW 2006, Australia. [email protected].

Abstract

Congenital heart disease places a significant burden on the individual, family and community despite significant advances in our understanding of aetiology and treatment. Early research in ischaemic heart disease has paved the way for stem cell technology and bioengineering, which promises to improve both structural and functional aspects of disease. Stem cell therapy has demonstrated significant improvements in cardiac function in adults with ischaemic heart disease. This finding, together with promising case studies in the paediatric setting, demonstrates the potential for this treatment in congenital heart disease. Furthermore, induced pluripotent stems cell technology, provides a unique opportunity to address aetiological, as well as therapeutic, aspects of disease.

Keywords: bioengineered myocardium; congenital heart disease; hypoplastic left heart; inducible pluripotential stem cells.

Publication types

Review