Cardiac cells integrated into microneedle patches could treat heart attacks

Stem cell therapy has been used to improve treatment options for survivors, but so far, cardiac stem cell (CSC) retention rate has been low in many delivery routes. To overcome this hurdle, Dr Junnan Tang and colleagues created a microneedle (MN) patch for therapeutic heart regeneration.

Its biocompatible needles can penetrate the skin and serve as communication channels between the patch and the heart, feeding CSCs from the patch to the injured area for repair. In a rat model of heart attack, the researchers placed a 0.5 centimetre by 0.5 centimetre MN-CSC patch containing rat CSCs directly onto the damaged area of the rat’s heart during open heart surgery.

The patch treatment reduced cardiac cell death and promoted growth of myocytes – cells found in muscle tissue of the heart – as well as the development of new heart tissue.

The authors further validated their device in a pig – an animal that has similar blood flow features to humans – and this test confirmed the safety and biocompatibility of the MN-CSC patch. According to Dr Tang and colleagues, future work should focus on less invasive ways to deliver the patch, rather than during open heart surgery.