Create an Engineered Conduction Tissue by Seeding Cardiac Progenitor Cells on Gelatin Foam

CompleteAV conduction block is typically treated by implanting an electronicpacemaker device; however, long‐term pacing therapy in pediatricpatients has significant complications. In this study, an engineered conduction tissue seeded with cardiac progenitor cells were implanted in rat hearts to create an alternative AV conduction pathway. The engineered conduction tissue was created by seeding cardiac progenitor cells on gelatin foam and exhibited sustained electrical coupling through persistent expression and function of gap junction proteins and pacemaker genes. Cardiac progenitor cells in the constructs were shown to survive in the hearts and the coupling of grafted cells with host cardiomyocytes was shown. Our experiments suggest the possibility that engineered tissue constructs can function as an electrical conduit and, ultimately, may offer a substitute treatment to conventional pacing therapy.