Human Engineered Heart Muscles Engraft and Survive Long Term in a Rodent Myocardial Infarction Model

Rationale:Tissue engineering approaches may improve survival and functional benefits from human embryonic stem cell–derived cardiomyocyte transplantation, thereby potentially preventing dilative remodeling and progression to heart failure. Objective:Assessment of transport stability, long-term survival, structural organization, functional benefits, and teratoma risk of engineered heart muscle (EHM) in a chronic myocardial infarction model. Methods and Results:We constructed EHMs from human embryonic stem cell–derived cardiomyocytes and released them for transatlantic shipping following predefined quality control criteria. Two days of shipment did not lead to adverse effects on cell viability or contractile performance of EHMs (n=3, P=0.83, P=0.87). One month after ischemia/reperfusion injury, EHMs were implanted onto immunocompromised rat hearts to simulate chronic ischemia. Bioluminescence imaging showed stable engraftment with no significant cell loss between week 2 and 12 (n=6, P=0.67), preserving ≤25%...