Living and Tissue-Engineered Heart Valves and Vascular Grafts: From Regenerative Biology to Implantable Solutions

This is a Research Topic initiated by ISACB, the International Society for Applied Cardiovascular Biology.

The field of cardiovascular tissue engineering is evolving rapidly toward living heart valves and vascular grafts capable of adaptation, growth, and self-repair. Traditional mechanical and bioprosthetic valves, as well as synthetic and biological vascular grafts, have transformed the treatment of cardiovascular disease but remain constrained by important limitations, including lifetime anticoagulation requirements, structural degeneration, thrombosis, infection, calcification, and limited growth potential, particularly in pediatric and younger patient populations. Advances in decellularised scaffolds, induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived cell populations, biomimetic materials, and bioprinted constructs have accelerated the preclinical pipeline, enabling improved recapitulation of native cardiovascular tissue architecture and function. Yet, the translation of these technologies into durable clinical therapies continues to face significant challenges, particularly in understanding long-term mechanobiology, immune responses, host–material integration, and tissue remodeling under physiological loading conditions.



This Research Topic aims to bridge regenerative biology, biomaterials engineering, and clinical science to drive the next generation of tissue-engineered heart valves and vascular grafts. By uniting multidisciplinary expertise, it seeks to elucidate how cellular dynamics, scaffold composition, vascularization, and hemodynamic forces interact to support stable, functional cardiovascular tissue regeneration. The ultimate goal is to guide the progression from bench discovery to reliable, durable, and clinically translatable implantable solutions for valve and vascular reconstruction.



To gather further insights into the design, regeneration, and translation of living cardiovascular substitutes, we welcome contributions addressing, but not limited to:



• Optimization and recellularization of decellularized extracellular matrices for valves and vascular grafts

• iPSC-derived interstitial, endothelial, and vascular cell models

• Bioprinting and advanced fabrication of anatomically accurate valve leaflets and vascular conduits

• Elastomeric, hydrogel, and hybrid scaffold materials for enhanced cardiovascular tissue performance

• Mechanobiological responses to cyclic stress, strain, and flow-mediated forces

• Host immune modulation, vascularization, and in situ tissue engineering approaches

• Growth, remodeling, and long-term durability of living cardiovascular implants

• Small- and large-animal models for preclinical evaluation of tissue-engineered valves and vascular grafts

• Translational readiness, regulatory frameworks, manufacturing considerations, and first-in-human studies

**Topic Editor Dr. Frederick Schoen declared the following Conflict of Interest: Consultant and SAB member of Xeltis, a developer and manufacturer of medical products in the Netherlands.

All other Topic Editors have no conflicts to declare.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Systematic Review

Keywords: tissue-engineered valves, vascular grafts, regenerative cardiology, cardiovascular tissue engineering, biomaterials, mechanobiology, bioprinting, iPSC-derived cells, vascular regeneration, valve durability, ISACB

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.