Cardiac tissue engineering by electrical stimulation with subcutaneous and cardiac adipose-tissue derived progenitor cells (ATDPCs)

Abstract

A major challenge of cardiac tissue engineering is directing cells to establish the physiological structure and function of the myocardium being replaced. In native heart, pacing cells generate electrical stimuli that spread throughout the heart causing cell membrane depolarization and activation of contractile apparatus. We ought to examine whether electrical stimulation of adipose tissue-derived progenitor cells (ATDPCs) exerts phenotypic and genetic changes that enhance their cardiomyogenic potential.