Fig. 1

Evolution of translational cardiac regenerative therapies. First-generation cell types such as SMs, BMMNCs, HSCs, EPCs, and MSCs demonstrated feasibility and safety with, however, heterogeneous outcomes and limited efficacy in the clinical setting. In order to better match the target organ, second-generation cell therapies propose the use of cpMSCs, CSCs/CPCs, and CDCs, and pluripotent stem cells such as ESCs and iPSCs. Next-generation therapies for cardiac repair are directed toward cell enhancement (e.g., biomaterials, 3D cell constructs, cytokines, miRNAs) and cell-free concepts (e.g., growth factors, non-coding RNAs, extracellular vesicles, and direct reprograming)