• Established a novel Step-Down Pacing Heart Failure model in canines that maintains depressed cardiac function for one month without mortality, enabling robust preclinical evaluation of therapies.
• Developed IHJ-301, a multi-layered human iPSC-derived cardiovascular cell sheet incorporating cardiomyocytes, endothelial cells, and stromal cells, with interleaved gelatin hydrogel microspheres to overcome stacking limits.
• Epicardial implantation of IHJ-301 significantly improved left ventricular ejection fraction, fractional shortening, stroke volume, and cardiac output compared to sham in a non-ischemic DCM model.
• Provides strong preclinical evidence supporting IHJ-301 as a promising therapeutic option for dilated cardiomyopathy, addressing the urgent need for alternatives to heart transplantation.