Cell子刊：华人团队开发新型微针贴片，促进心肌梗塞后的心脏修复

Core Viewpoint - Myocardial infarction (MI) is a leading cause of heart disease globally, and while treatment for acute MI has improved, the prevalence of heart failure (HF) resulting from MI has increased, presenting a significant public health issue [2] Group 1: Research Development - A collaborative study by teams from Columbia University and UCLA developed an IL-4 loaded microneedle patch (IL4 MP-MN) that induces a macrophage-mediated pro-repair microenvironment, promoting cardiac repair in rodent and porcine models of MI [3][8] - The IL4 MP-MN patch continuously releases IL-4, which not only encourages myocardial cell proliferation but also effectively suppresses endothelial inflammatory signaling [8][9] Group 2: Mechanism and Design - The study addresses the challenge of delivering IL-4 locally and minimally invasively to damaged myocardium by encapsulating IL-4 in PLGA microparticles and integrating them into a hyaluronic acid hydrogel-based microneedle patch [6][8] - This design features biocompatibility, adjustable drug release kinetics, and controlled release, allowing for targeted diffusion of IL-4 to the damaged myocardium [6][8] Group 3: Experimental Results - Experimental results in rat and pig models of MI demonstrated that the microneedle patch significantly improved ventricular contractile function and maintained myocardial tissue integrity, indicating strong safety and efficacy for clinical translation [8][13] - The patch induces a macrophage-associated pro-repair microenvironment and prompts myocardial cells to re-enter the cell cycle [13]