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A framework for developing sex-specific engineered heart models
Open accessAbstract
The convergence of tissue engineering and patient-specific stem cell biology has enabled the engineering of in vitro tissue models that allow the study of patient-tailored treatment modalities. However, sex-related disparities in health and disease, from systemic hormonal influences to cellular-level differences, are often overlooked in stem cell biology, tissue engineering and preclinical screening. The cardiovascular system, in particular, shows considerable sex-related differences, which need to be considered in cardiac tissue engineering. In this Review, we analyse sex-related properties of the heart muscle in the context of health and disease, and discuss a framework for including sex-based differences in human cardiac tissue engineering. We highlight how sex-based features can be implemented at the cellular and tissue levels, and how sex-specific cardiac models could advance the study of cardiovascular diseases. Finally, we define design criteria for sex-specific cardiac tissue engineering and provide an outlook to future research possibilities beyond the cardiovascular system.
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“there are sex-related differences in how men and women absorb, distribute and metabolize drugs, ultimately affecting drug efficacy and safety48,130,131.”
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Self-citation
Metadata
- Authors
- Lock, R., Al Asafen, H., Fleischer, S., Tamargo, M., Zhao, Y., Radisic, M., & Vunjak-Novakovic, G.
- Affiliations
- Columbia University (US)
- University of Toronto (CA)
- Venue
- Nature Reviews Materials
- Published
- 2021-10-20
- Volume
- 7
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 295-313
- ISSN
- 2058-8437 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC8527305
- OpenAlex
- W3207902372
- Cited by
- 50
- References
- 275
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 1
- FWCI
- 2.17
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Nature Reviews Materials (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation (NSF16478)
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NNX16AO69A)
- National Institutes of Health (2r01hl076485-16, NSF16478, EB027062, HL076485, EB025765)
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (R01-HL076485)
- National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (UG3EB025765, UH3EB025765, P41EB027062)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Surgery › Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Sex and Gender in Healthcare
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Pluripotent Stem Cells Research
- Keywords
- sex differences, cardiac tissue engineering, cardiovascular disease, in vitro cardiac models
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