[On-chip Cellomics technology for drug screening system using cardiomyocyte cells from human stem cell]

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular pharmacology
• Biomedical engineering
• Cellular toxicology

Context:

• Conventional human Ether-a-go-go Related Gene (hERG) assays and QT prolongation testing have limitations in predicting drug-induced Torsades de Pointes (TdP).
• There is a critical need for advanced pre-clinical methods to assess global cardiac safety.
• On-chip cellomics systems represent a promising frontier in cellular analysis.

Purpose:

• To introduce an on-chip cardiomyocyte cell network-based re-entry model assay for cardiac safety evaluation.
• To demonstrate the system's capability in predicting TdP probability.
• To showcase the system's potential for estimating cardiac pressure and ion channel (Na+, K+, Ca2+) conditions.

Summary:

• An on-chip cellomics system utilizes a cardiomyocyte cell network re-entry model to assess cardiac safety.
• This novel assay predicts Torsades de Pointes (TdP) probability, overcoming limitations of conventional hERG and QT prolongation tests.
• The system integrates optical and electrical measurements for comprehensive analysis, including cardiac pressure and ion channel function.

Impact:

• Provides a more accurate pre-clinical assessment of drug-induced cardiac risks, specifically TdP.
• Enables simultaneous evaluation of multiple cardiac parameters (re-entry, pressure, ion channels) from a single cell-based system.
• Offers significant potential for improving drug discovery and toxicology screening by enhancing predictive accuracy for cardiac safety.