Degradable Cardiac Patch with Immuno-modulatory function

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Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the world. Specifically, in 2012,**CVD was responsible for ~17.5 million deaths globally and 62,000 deaths in Canada, costing**the Canadian economy more than $21.2 billion. Myocardial infarction or heart attacks**represent the main cause of CVD-related deaths, resulting in irreversible heart muscle**damage due to the limited regenerative capacity of the heart. This can ultimately lead to endstage**heart failure, which is currently treated using heart transplantation and ventricular assist**devices (VADs). However, a shortage of donor organs as well as the high cost of VADs and**their lack of long-term suitability for all patient types are significant limitations of these**standard treatments. Tissue engineering and the development of cardiac tissue has become**a promising method for the repair and replacement of damaged myocardium and a means of**preventing end-stage heart failure. In this project, and utilizing the biomaterial expertise of**Santerre lab and the cardiovascular biology expertise of the Bendeck lab (both at the**University of Toronto) and clinical expertise of the Dr. Epelman lab at the University Hospital**network, a novel degradable polyurethane scaffold, using a biomaterial platform that has been**shown to modulate the early immune response upon implantation, will be combined with**cardiac cells, which will be derived from adipose stem cells, in order to develop a functional**and vascularized cardiac patch. The properties, performance and survival of the resulting**engineered patch will studied for their in vivo benefit.