{
  "abstract": "Myocardial infarction (MI) causes extensive cardiomyocyte loss and adverse remodeling, frequently progressing to heart failure. Although stem cell-based therapies are being investigated for cardiac repair, clinical outcomes remain modest. Cardiac atrial appendage stem cells (CASCs) harbor cardiomyogenic potential, making them promising candidates for cardiac regeneration. This proof-of-concept pilot study investigates the feasibility and preliminary therapeutic potential of delivering CASCs within an elastin-like recombinamer (ELR) hydrogel scaffold following MI. MI was induced in rats by permanent ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery. Immediately after occlusion, CASCs (MI+C), ELR hydrogel (MI+H), or CASCs embedded in ELR hydrogel (MI+C+H) were injected intramyocardially into the peri-infarct region. MI and SHAM-operated animals served as controls. Four weeks post-MI, echocardiography showed a large, non-significant left ventricular ejection fraction improvement in MI+C+H versus MI, with a trend toward reduced end-diastolic volume. MI+C+H significantly improved anterior wall thickness versus MI+H, with favorable trends for MI+C. Wall motion score index showed a similar large, non-significant effect. Transcriptomics suggested the MI+C+H molecular profile reflected complementary contributions of both monotherapies rather than distinct synergistic mechanisms. These preliminary findings support ELR-mediated CASC delivery and suggest potential benefits for preserving cardiac function and limiting adverse remodeling, warranting confirmation in adequately powered studies.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Cardio & Organ Systems (COST), Biomedical Research Institute (BIOMED), Hasselt University, Agoralaan, 3590 Diepenbeek, Belgium",
    "BIOFORGE (Group for Advanced Materials and Nanobiotechnology), University of Valladolid—CIBER-BBN-LADIS, Edificio Lucía, Paseo de Belén 19, 47011 Valladolid, Spain",
    "Advanced Optical Microscopy Centre, Biomedical Research Institute (BIOMED, Hasselt University, Agoralaan, 3590 Diepenbeek, Belgium",
    "Limburg Clinical Research Center (LCRC), Hasselt University, 3590 Diepenbeek, Belgium",
    "Department of Immunology and Infection, Biomedical Research Institute (BIOMED), Hasselt University, Agoralaan, 3590 Diepenbeek, Belgium"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 16,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Ellen Heeren",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-8878-322X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Lotte Vastmans",
      "orcid": "0009-0006-2699-9539"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Dorien Deluyker"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Anouk Delaet"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Lisa Steegen"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Vincent Vandenboer",
      "orcid": "0009-0005-0473-1761"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Ignace Van der Wee",
      "orcid": "0009-0006-4473-5895"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "María Puertas Bartolomé"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Sam Duwé",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-3768-1877"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Sebastiaan Dhont",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-5615-3191"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Pieter-Jan Volders",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-2685-2637"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Alessio Cardilli"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "José Carlos Rodríguez-Cabello",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-3438-858X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Annelies Bronckaers"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Marc Hendrikx",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-4200-4144"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Virginie Bito",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-0986-7906"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/f6pqn3dzs2330.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3390/ijms27219563",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "f6pqn3dzs2330",
  "issns": [
    "1422-0067"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/21/9563",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2746|Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7223972436",
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-26",
  "publisher": "MDPI AG",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/f6pqn3dzs2330.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:18:57Z",
      "native_id": "10.3390/ijms27219563",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/21/9563"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2746|Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine",
      "subfield": "surgery"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Cardiac Atrial Appendage Stem Cells Embedded in Elastin-like Recombinamer Hydrogel for Cardiac Repair After Acute MI: A Pilot Study",
  "title_text": "Cardiac Atrial Appendage Stem Cells Embedded in Elastin-like Recombinamer Hydrogel for Cardiac Repair After Acute MI: A Pilot Study",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:18:57Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/f6pqn3dzs2330",
  "venue": "International Journal of Molecular Sciences",
  "versions": []
}