We welcome our next seminar speaker, Dr. Yibing Qyang from the Yale School of Medicine. He is an Associate Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) and of Pathology.
Stem Cells for Cardiovascular Tissue Engineering and Regeneration
ABSTRACT: Mechanically robust vascular grafts are in urgent clinical demand for treating cardiovascular diseases or providing hemodialysis access. Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) can be derived in large numbers from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) for producing tissue-engineered vascular grafts (TEVGs). We will discuss the generation of hiPSC-derived TEVGs with mechanical strength comparable to native vessels used in arterial bypass grafts by utilizing biodegradable scaffolds, incremental pulsatile stretching, and optimal culture conditions. Following implantation into a rat aortic model, hiPSC-TEVGs show excellent patency without luminal dilation and effectively maintain mechanical and contractile function. To develop readily available vascular grafts, we have decellularized hiPSC-TEVGs based on an efficient decellularization approach. We have also successfully endothelialized decellularized hiPSC-TEVGs with hiPSC-derived ECs (hiPSC-ECs) under shear stress in a flow bioreactor. Immunologically “universal” hiPSCs will be discussed in order to make hiPSC-TEVG readily available for vascular treatment. Finally, the progress on exploring TEVGs as a potential treatment for single ventricle congenital heart defects will be shared. These studies may provide a foundation for future production of non-immunogenic hiPSC-TEVGs for treating cardiovascular diseases.
BIO: Yibing Qyang obtained his B.S. degree from the Department of Biochemistry, Nanjing University, China and subsequently pursued graduate studies at the Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Then he joined the Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. After receiving his Ph.D. degree, he spent the next year conducting postdoctoral research at Baylor College of Medicine, where he studied myeloproliferative diseases with a mouse model of presenilin deficiency. He next joined Dr. Kenneth R. Chien's laboratory at the University of California, San Diego and then the Cardiovascular Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Stem Cell Institute. He has been studying the renewal and differentiation of cardiovascular progenitor cells, marked by Isl1, a LIM-Homeodomain transcription factor, as well as cardiovascular disease mechanisms using human stem cell and animal models. In October 2008, Dr. Qyang became a principal investigator at the Yale Cardiovascular Research Center and Section of Cardiology, Dept. of Internal Medicine, and Yale Stem Cell Center. Since 2010, he has been the Director of the Yale Stem Cell Research Forum.
