Stem Cell-based Therapy Development Services for Cardiovascular Diseases

For certain irreversible cardiovascular tissue damage, stem cell-based therapies are considered an emerging alternative treatment for cardiovascular disease. Ace Therapeutics offers comprehensive stem cell development services to assist clients in the development process of stem cell-based therapies to treat cardiovascular diseases.

Mechanisms of Stem Cell-based Therapy for Cardiovascular Diseases

Stem cells can play a role in promoting new blood vessels, regenerating damaged myocardium, and improving myocardial function.

• Enhancing Myocardial Contractile Function
  It was found that the induced cardiomyocytes could form intercalated disks with host cells and directly participate in the contraction of the host heart, enhancing the local contractile function of the myocardium.
• Promoting Neovascularization
  Stem cells can be directly induced to differentiate into endothelial cells using inducers such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and insulin-like growth factor (IGF) to promote the formation of new blood vessels.
• Inhibiting Apoptosis in Cardiomyocytes
  Stem cells can inhibit cardiomyocyte apoptosis, thereby reducing myocardial injury and myocardial enzyme leakage, and have the ability to reverse myocardial injury and improve the process of heart failure in order to enhance cardiac function.

Fig. 1 Schematic of the suggested mechanism in the cardiac failure. (Rikhtegar R, et al., 2019)

Ace Therapeutics offers comprehensive stem cell-based therapy development services, including stem cell development as well as preclinical testing of stem cells, to assist clients in the development of stem cell-based therapies for cardiovascular diseases.

Stem Cell Isolation and Reprogramming

We can isolate and reprogram many types of somatic cells to generate induced pluripotent stem cells (IPSCs). The types of stem cells we can develop are listed below.

• Embryonic Stem Cells (ESCs)
• Bone Marrow-derived Mononuclear Cells (BM-MNCs)
• Endothelial Progenitor Cells (EPCs)
• Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs)
• Cardiac Stem Cells (CSCs)

Stem Cell Expansion and Differentiation

We can use growth factors, small molecules and genetic modifications to guide the differentiation of stem cells into cardiovascular cell types such as cardiomyocytes, endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells.

Stem Cell Characterization and Analysis

We can assess whether stem cells have differentiated successfully, including assessing functions such as cell viability, proliferation and differentiation.

Preclinical Studies of Stem Cell-based Therapy

• Pharmacodynamic Assessment of Stem Cell-based Therapy
  We can test the therapeutic potential of stem cells in animal models of cardiovascular diseases, including evaluating engraftment, survival, and differentiation of transplanted cells, as well as assessing functional outcomes of differentiated stem cells, such as whether they improve cardiac function, tissue repair, and angiogenesis.
• Toxicological and Immunogenicity Assessment of Stem Cell-based Therapy
  We can conduct systematic preclinical studies to assess the safety of stem cell-based therapies, including potential tumorigenicity, immune responses, and adverse reactions.

Ace Therapeutics is a CRO company dedicated to providing outsourced drug discovery services for cardiovascular diseases, and we strive to provide customized solutions for the development of stem cell-based therapies. If you are interested in our services, please don't hesitate to contact us.

1. Rikhtegar, R.; et al. Stem cells as therapy for heart disease: iPSCs, ESCs, CSCs, and skeletal myoblasts. Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy. 2019, 109 :304-313.