TSUKUBA, Japan, Aug 6, 2021 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - Heart muscle becomes damaged and cardiac function is affected when blood vessels feeding the heart are blocked. A new stem-cell-carrying hydrogel helps mice recover from this condition, called myocardial infarction, by stimulating formation of new blood vessels. Developed by a team of scientists at Kansai University in Japan, the stem cell delivery system is described in the journal Science and Technology of Advanced Materials.The hydrogel acts as a scaffold that holds the stem cells in place at the site of injection and keeps them alive for longer. The stem cells produce cytokines that stimulate the formation of blood vessels to help the heart recover. The gel is biodegradable, so it eventually dissolves and is removed by the body.The team used stem cells derived from fat tissue in their application. These so-called 'adipose-derived stem cells' have already been investigated for treating damaged cardiac tissue from reduced blood flow to the heart, known as myocardial ischemia. The idea is that the stem cells will release stimulating factors to regenerate blood vessels once injected into damaged heart tissue. The prob...