Advances and Prospects in Using Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells for 3D Bioprinting in Cardiac Tissue Engineering

Background: Cardiovascular diseases remain one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Given the limited self-repair capacity of cardiac tissue, cardiac tissue engineering (CTE) aims to develop strategies and materials for repairing or replacing damaged cardiac tissue by combining biology, medicine, and engineering. Indeed, CTE has made significant strides since the discovery of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) in 2006, including creating cardiac patches, organoids, and chip models derived from iPSCs, thus offering new strategies for treating cardiac diseases. Methods: A systematic search for relevant literature published between 2003 and 2024 was conducted in the PubMed and Web of Science databases using "Cardiac Tissue Engineering", "3D Bioprinting", "Scaffold in Tissue Engineering", "Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells", and "iPSCs" as keywords. Results: This systematic search using the abovementioned keywords identified relevant articles for inclusion in this review. The resulting literature indicated that CTE can offer innovative solutions for treating cardiac diseases when integrated with three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting and iPSC technology. Conclusions: Despite notable advances in the field of CTE, multiple challenges remain relating to 3D-bioprinted cardiac tissues. These include maintaining long-term cell viability, achieving precise cell distribution, tissue vascularization, material selection, and cost-effectiveness. Therefore, further research is needed to optimize printing techniques, develop more advanced bio-inks, explore larger-scale tissue constructs, and ensure the biosafety and functional fidelity of engineered cardiac tissues. Subsequently, future research efforts should focus on these areas to facilitate the clinical translation of CTE. Moreover, additional long-term animal models and preclinical studies should be conducted to ensure the biosafety and functionality of engineered cardiac tissues, thereby creating novel possibilities for treating patients with heart diseases.