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Microfluidic Genipin Deposition Technique for Extended Culture of Micropatterned Vascular Muscular Thin Films
Published on: June 26, 2015
Biohybrid thin films for measuring contractility in engineered cardiovascular muscle
Patrick W Alford1, Adam W Feinberg, Sean P Sheehy
1Disease Biophysics Group, Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
Biomaterials
|February 13, 2010
Summary
A new method measures engineered cardiovascular muscle contractility, providing in vivo relevance for disease models. This technique aids in assessing drug efficacy and safety for cardiac and vascular tissues.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Cardiovascular Research
- Tissue Engineering
Background:
- In vitro cardiovascular models require tissue-scale functional recapitulation for in vivo relevance.
- Accurate measurement of engineered muscle contractility is crucial for preclinical research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a novel method for quantifying the contractility of engineered cardiovascular muscle tissues in vitro.
- To assess the functional performance of engineered cardiac and vascular tissues under various stimulation conditions.
Main Methods:
- Developed a finite elasticity analysis based on growth theory to calculate contractile stresses in 2D anisotropic muscle tissues.
- Cultured engineered cardiac muscle with neonatal rat ventricular myocytes and vascular tissue with human umbilical arterial smooth muscle cells on flexible polymer films.
- Measured tissue contractility during electrical pacing and pharmacological stimulation.
Main Results:
- Engineered cardiac muscle (neonatal rat ventricular myocytes) paced at 0.5 Hz generated peak systolic stresses of 9.2 ± 3.5 kPa.
- Engineered vascular tissue (human umbilical arterial smooth muscle cells) exhibited a basal contractile tone of 13.1 ± 2.1 kPa.
- Endothelin-1 stimulation increased vascular tissue contractile stress by an additional 5.1 ± 0.8 kPa.
Conclusions:
- The developed method accurately measures contractile stresses in engineered cardiovascular tissues, comparable to in vivo measurements.
- This technique offers a valuable tool for evaluating the efficacy and safety of pharmacological agents on cardiovascular tissues.
- The findings support the use of engineered tissues in preclinical cardiovascular research and drug development.
