Fig. 1

Cardiac cell therapy and tissue engineering experience at the ICREC laboratory. In the preclinical setting, UCBMSCs emerged as an alternative tissue source for cell therapy in treating diseases with vascular deficits. Conversely, cATMSCs showed baseline cardiomyogenic traits, which could be promoted with electromechanical stimulation; cATMSCs also possessed great reparative potential following implantation in vivo with cardiac engineered grafts or bioprostheses. Preliminary results were good when the AGTP was tested in humans; therefore, it might be not necessary to isolate and manipulate cells ex vivo when treating heart failure after myocardial infarction. At this time, our cell therapy and tissue engineering approaches are ready to undergo the complex good manufacturing practice and regulatory procedures necessary for translation into clinical scenarios. AdiFLAP pericardial adipose pedicle, AGTP adipose graft transposition procedure, MSC mesenchymal stem cell