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Simultaneous Electrical and Mechanical Stimulation to Enhance Cells' Cardiomyogenic Potential
Published on: January 18, 2019
Electrical stimulation directs engineered cardiac tissue to an age-matched native phenotype
Richard A Lasher1, Aric Q Pahnke, Jeffrey M Johnson
1Department of Bioengineering, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
Journal of Tissue Engineering
|August 25, 2012
Summary
Electrical stimulation guides engineered cardiac tissue to mimic native myocardium's structure. This research quantifies cell geometry and connexin-43 distribution, showing stimulated tissue more closely resembles native tissue than previously thought.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Tissue Engineering
- Cardiovascular Research
Background:
- Developing functional engineered cardiac tissue is crucial for in vitro testing and myocardial repair.
- Quantifying structural features of native and engineered myocardium is essential for creating biomimetic tissues.
- Understanding how environmental cues influence engineered tissue development is key.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantitatively describe structural features of native and engineered cardiac tissue using 3D confocal imaging and analysis.
- To test the hypothesis that environmental cues direct engineered tissue toward a phenotype resembling age-matched native myocardium.
- To compare engineered cardiac tissue with and without electrical stimulation to native postnatal day 12 and adult myocardium.
Main Methods:
- Applied 3D confocal imaging and quantitative image analysis to segment individual myocytes.
- Calculated myocyte geometry (volume, length, width, height) and connexin-43 spatial distribution.
- Analyzed engineered cardiac tissue (stimulated and nonstimulated) and native myocardium (postnatal day 12 and adult).
Main Results:
- Electrically stimulated engineered tissue showed a significantly higher myocyte volume fraction (0.34 ± 0.14) compared to nonstimulated tissue (0.18 ± 0.06).
- Stimulated myocytes were more elongated and had dimensions similar to age-matched native myocardium.
- Connexin-43 membrane staining was similar in stimulated, postnatal day 12, and adult myocytes, but lower in nonstimulated myocytes.
Conclusions:
- Environmental cues, specifically electrical stimulation, promote engineered cardiac tissue development towards a phenotype resembling native myocardium.
- The structural features of electrically stimulated engineered tissue are more representative of age-matched native myocardium than adult myocardium.
- The developed quantitative approach is valuable for characterizing developmental processes and mechanisms in engineered tissues.
