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Controlling the structural and functional anisotropy of engineered cardiac tissues
W Bian1, C P Jackman2, N Bursac2
1Department of Anesthesia and Medicine and Cardiovascular Division, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
Biofabrication
|April 11, 2014
Summary
Researchers engineered 3D cardiac tissues with controlled anisotropy using soft lithography. This method improved cell alignment, leading to enhanced electrical and contractile functions comparable to native heart tissue.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Cardiovascular Research
- Tissue Engineering
Background:
- Controlling structural and functional anisotropy in 3D engineered cardiac tissues is crucial for in vitro studies and potential therapies.
- Existing methods lack precise control over tissue anisotropy, limiting their application in understanding cardiac physiology and pathology.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a method for engineering 3D cardiac tissue patches with controllable anisotropy.
- To investigate the impact of structural anisotropy on the functional properties of engineered cardiac tissues.
Main Methods:
- Utilized high aspect ratio soft lithography to create network-like cardiac tissue patches.
- Seeded patches with neonatal rat cardiomyocytes and fabricated elliptical pores of varying lengths to control alignment.
- Assessed cardiomyocyte and extracellular matrix alignment, action potential propagation anisotropy, longitudinal conduction velocity (LCV), and isometric twitch forces.
Main Results:
- Longer elliptical pores significantly increased cardiomyocyte and extracellular matrix alignment.
- Improved alignment resulted in increased electrical anisotropy and faster LCV.
- Engineered tissues exhibited enhanced isometric twitch forces, with LCV and specific twitch force comparable to neonatal rat myocardium after two weeks of culture.
Conclusions:
- Soft lithography with engineered pore networks provides a method to control anisotropy in 3D cardiac tissues.
- Achieved high levels of structural and functional anisotropy, leading to improved electrical and contractile performance.
- This methodology enables the engineering of highly functional 3D cardiac tissues for research and therapeutic applications.
