Extracellular Vesicles in Cardiac Regeneration: Potential Applications for Tissues-on-a-Chip

Karl T Wagner; Trevor R Nash; Bohao Liu; Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic; Milica Radisic

doi:10.1016/j.tibtech.2020.08.005

Extracellular Vesicles in Cardiac Regeneration: Potential Applications for Tissues-on-a-Chip

Trends Biotechnol. 2021 Aug;39(8):755-773. doi: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2020.08.005. Epub 2020 Sep 19.

Authors

Karl T Wagner¹, Trevor R Nash², Bohao Liu², Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic³, Milica Radisic⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
² Department of Medicine, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA; Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
³ Department of Medicine, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA. Electronic address: gv2131@columbia.edu.
⁴ Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Toronto General Research Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada. Electronic address: m.radisic@utoronto.ca.

Abstract

Strategies to regenerate cardiac tissue postinjury are limited and heart transplantation remains the only 'cure' for a failing heart. Extracellular vesicles (EVs), membrane-bound cell secretions important in intercellular signaling, have been shown to play a crucial role in regulating heart function. A mechanistic understanding of the role of EVs in the heart remains elusive due to the challenges in studying the native human heart. Tissue-on-a-chip platforms, comprising functional, physiologically relevant human tissue models, are an emerging technology that has yet to be fully applied to the study of EVs. In this review, we summarize recent advances in cardiac tissue-on-a-chip (CTC) platforms and discuss how they are uniquely situated to advance our understanding of EVs in cardiac disease and regeneration.

Keywords: cardiac tissue-on-a-chip; disease modeling; extracellular vesicles; intercellular signaling; regenerative cardiac therapy.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
Review

MeSH terms

Extracellular Vesicles* / metabolism
Heart* / physiology
Humans
Lab-On-A-Chip Devices*
Myocardium / cytology
Regeneration*

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

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