The guidance of stem cell cardiomyogenic differentiation by bioartificial scaffolds mimicking myocardium structure and biomechanics

Scientific objectives Despite enormous progresses in the treatment of coronary artery disease, it remains the most common cause of heart failure and the leading cause of death in the Western countries. New translational therapeutic approaches based on personalized and regenerative medicine explore cardiomyogenic differentiation of various types of stem cells by electrical stimulation, biochemical inducers, or cell co-culturing [1-3]. In this study we fabricated bioartificial constructs mimicking anisotropic structure and mechanical properties of the myocardium [4].