An injectable chitosan/dextran/β -glycerophosphate hydrogel as cell delivery carrier for therapy of myocardial infarction

Acute myocardial infarction (MI) is a common cardiovascular disease with high mortality. In this study, an injectable thermosensitive hydrogel of chitosan (CS)/dextran (DEX)/β–glycerophosphate (β-GP) loaded with umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (UCMSCs) was prepared for MI treatment. The good biocompatibility of hydrogels was confirmed by 3T3 cells and HUVECs culture study in vitro . HUVECs encapsulated in the hydrogels showed a cell delivery ability. Furthermore, the results indicated that hydrogel could encapsulate most of UCMSCs and the cells exhibited good viability in CS/ 1.0DEX/β-GP hydrogels. The expression of cardiac markers of cTnI and Cx43 and signaling pathways of p-Akt and p-ERK1/2 were studied, and it showed that UCMSCs differentiate towards myocardium and has a great potential for therapeutic use of cardiac repair. In conclusion, the thermosensitive hydrogel of CS/1.0 DEX/β-GP loaded UCMSCs was a promising candidate as cell delivery vehicle for cardiac repair to reconstitute damaged myocardium.