Injectable Hydrogels for Improving Cardiac Cell Therapy-In Vivo Evidence and Translational Challenges

Several human studies show positive signals, while research methods and sample sizes continue to develop.

• Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
• Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
• Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
• Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
• Emerging · Emerging topic under active research

Abstract (original English)

Cell therapy has the potential to regenerate cardiac tissue and treat a variety of cardiac diseases which are currently without effective treatment. This novel approach to treatment has demonstrated clinical efficiency, despite low retention of the cell products in the heart. It has been shown that improving retention often leads to improved functional outcome. A feasible method of improving cell graft retention is administration of injectable hydrogels. Over the last decade, a variety of injectable hydrogels have been investigated preclinically for their potential to improve the effects of cardiac cell therapy. These hydrogels are created with different polymers, properties, and additional functional motifs and differ in their approaches for encapsulating different cell types. Only one combinational therapy has been tested in a clinical randomized controlled trial. In this review, the latest research on the potential of injectable hydrogels for delivery of cell therapy is discussed, together with potential roadblocks for clinical translation and recommendations for future explorations to facilitate future translation.

Evidence level

Several human studies show positive signals, while research methods and sample sizes continue to develop.

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