Cardiovascular tissue engineering and regeneration based on adipose tissue-derived stem/stromal cells

Currently, the pre-clinical field is rapidly progressing in search of new therapeutic modalities that replace or complement current medication to treat cardiovascular disease. Among these are the single or combined use of stem cells, biomaterials and instructive factors, which together form the triad of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Stem cell therapy is a promising approach for repair, remodeling and even regenerate tissue of otherwise irreparable damage, such as after myocardial infarction (aMI) and Aortic aneurysm. A severe limitation of cardiac stem cell therapy is the generally poor retention of administered cells in the target tissue. In tissue repair, the main mode of action of adipose tissue-derived stem cells (ADSC) is the production of various growth factors, cytokines, anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic factors that together augment repair, remodeling and regeneration. In this thesis, we have shown that the topography and (bio) chemistry of the biomaterial have an impact on the ADSC biological behavior.