No Need for Open-Chest Surgery: Stem Cell Patch Enables Minimally Invasive Heart Repair
Release time:
2025-12-12
Recently, a joint research team from the Mayo Clinic and the University of Nebraska Medical Center published a breakthrough study in the Journal of Biomedical Materials Research—they successfully developed a minimally implantable stem cell patch that can repair damaged hearts without open-chest surgery, providing a safer treatment option for heart failure patients. This achievement signifies the deep integration of regenerative medicine and minimally invasive interventional technology, which is expected to reshape the clinical approach to heart repair.
Heart failure is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Among traditional treatment methods, in addition to medication control, severely ill patients often rely on mechanical pump assistance or even heart transplantation. However, the former carries a high risk of complications, while the latter faces a scarcity of donors. Previously, scientists attempted to replace damaged tissue with stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes, but the need for open-chest surgery deterred most patients. Even when using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) reprogrammed from skin or blood cells and cultured into cardiomyocytes, the safe and efficient delivery of these cells remained a critical bottleneck.
To address this challenge, the research team adopted an interdisciplinary engineering and biological perspective to design a flexible, ultra-thin stem cell patch. Its core consists of a nano-microfiber hybrid scaffold coated with gelatin as a substrate, which can carry reprogrammed and cultured human cardiomyocytes, vascular cells, and fibroblasts, forming a living, autonomously beating heart-like tissue. Before transplantation, the patch is infused with bioactive components such as fibroblast growth factor to promote angiogenesis and enhance cell survival.
More ingeniously, the patch can be folded like paper and precisely delivered to the target area of the heart through a small chest incision via a thin catheter. Once in place, it automatically unfolds and tightly adheres to the heart wall. Fixed with a biocompatible surgical adhesive, it avoids damage to surrounding tissues while ensuring stable anchoring. Preclinical trials showed that, compared to traditional methods, this minimally invasive implantation significantly improved heart function, reduced scar formation, promoted blood vessel growth, and simultaneously alleviated inflammation while activating the heart’s self-repair capabilities.
The breakthrough of this technology lies not only in avoiding high-risk open-chest surgery but also in the clever integration of regenerative medicine with minimally invasive interventions, overcoming the delivery barrier of stem cell therapy. The team emphasized that patients with severe heart failure currently have limited treatment options, and the patch solution offers a safer alternative for this population.
If this technology can be applied on a large scale in the future, it may significantly reduce hospitalization rates and medical burdens for heart failure patients, impacting the global landscape of cardiovascular health. In the long term, it could provide a replicable template for regenerative therapies for other organs, accelerating the translation of regenerative medicine into clinical practice. From "open-chest heart replacement" to "patch-based heart repair," this quiet medical revolution is sustaining life in a gentler way.
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