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Updated: Apr 5, 2026
Technical Applications of Microelectrode Array and Patch Clamp Recordings on Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes
Published on: August 4, 2022
Human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived versus adult cardiomyocytes: an in silico electrophysiological study on
M Paci1, J Hyttinen1, B Rodriguez2
1Department of Electronics and Communications Engineering, Tampere University of Technology, BioMediTech, Tampere, Finland.
Background And Purpose:
Two new technologies are likely to revolutionize cardiac safety and drug development: in vitro experiments on human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) and in silico human adult ventricular cardiomyocyte (hAdultV-CM) models. Their combination was recently proposed as a potential replacement for the present hERG-based QT study for pharmacological safety assessments. Here, we systematically compared in silico the effects of selective ionic current block on hiPSC-CM and hAdultV-CM action potentials (APs), to identify similarities/differences and to illustrate the potential of computational models as supportive tools for evaluating new in vitro technologies.
Experimental Approach:
In silico AP models of ventricular-like and atrial-like hiPSC-CMs and hAdultV-CM were used to simulate the main effects of four degrees of block of the main cardiac transmembrane currents.
Key Results:
Qualitatively, hiPSC-CM and hAdultV-CM APs showed similar responses to current block, consistent with results from experiments. However, quantitatively, hiPSC-CMs were more sensitive to block of (i) L-type Ca(2+) currents due to the overexpression of the Na(+) /Ca(2+) exchanger (leading to shorter APs) and (ii) the inward rectifier K(+) current due to reduced repolarization reserve (inducing diastolic potential depolarization and repolarization failure).
Conclusions And Implications:
In silico hiPSC-CMs and hAdultV-CMs exhibit a similar response to selective current blocks. However, overall hiPSC-CMs show greater sensitivity to block, which may facilitate in vitro identification of drug-induced effects. Extrapolation of drug effects from hiPSC-CM to hAdultV-CM and pro-arrhythmic risk assessment can be facilitated by in silico predictions using biophysically-based computational models.
