Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 8, 2026

Construction of Defined Human Engineered Cardiac Tissues to Study Mechanisms of Cardiac Cell Therapy
Published on: March 1, 2016
Defined Engineered Human Myocardium With Advanced Maturation for Applications in Heart Failure Modeling and Repair
Malte Tiburcy1, James E Hudson1, Paul Balfanz1
1From Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Germany (M.T., J.E.H., P.B., S.S., T.M., M.-L.C.L., E.L., F.R., S.Z., E. Wettwer, W.-H.Z.); German Center for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK), partner site Göttingen, Germany (M.T., J.E.H., P.B., S.S., T.M., M.-L.C.L., E.L., F.R., S.Z., E. Wingender, W.A.L., W.-H.Z.); Institute of Bioinformatics, University Medical Center Göttingen, Germany (S.Z., E. Wingender); Stanford Cardiovascular Institute (J.R., M.W., J.D.G., J.C.W.) and Department of Radiology (J.D.G., J.C.W.), Molecular Imaging Program, Stanford University School of Medicine, CA; The Sohnis Laboratory for Cardiac Electrophysiology and Regenerative Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa (I.K., L.G.); Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Technical University Dresden, Germany (E. Wettwer, U.R.); University Medical Center Utrecht and Hubrecht Institute, The Netherlands (P.D., L.W.v.L.); Leiden University Medical Center, The Netherlands (M.J.G.); Clinic for Cardiology and Pneumology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Germany (S.K., K.T., G.H., W.A.L.); Center for Applied Technology, Beckman Research Institute, City of Hope, Duarte, CA (L.A.C.); Department of Cardiovascular Physiology, Institute of Physiology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany (A.U., W.A.L.); New Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center at New York University Langone (T.A., B.N.); and McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine, Toronto, Canada (G.K.). The current address for Dr Hudson is Laboratory for Cardiac Regeneration, School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, Australia.
Background:
Advancing structural and functional maturation of stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes remains a key challenge for applications in disease modeling, drug screening, and heart repair. Here, we sought to advance cardiomyocyte maturation in engineered human myocardium (EHM) toward an adult phenotype under defined conditions.
Methods:
We systematically investigated cell composition, matrix, and media conditions to generate EHM from embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes and fibroblasts with organotypic functionality under serum-free conditions. We used morphological, functional, and transcriptome analyses to benchmark maturation of EHM.
Results:
EHM demonstrated important structural and functional properties of postnatal myocardium, including: (1) rod-shaped cardiomyocytes with M bands assembled as a functional syncytium; (2) systolic twitch forces at a similar level as observed in bona fide postnatal myocardium; (3) a positive force-frequency response; (4) inotropic responses to β-adrenergic stimulation mediated via canonical β1- and β2-adrenoceptor signaling pathways; and (5) evidence for advanced molecular maturation by transcriptome profiling. EHM responded to chronic catecholamine toxicity with contractile dysfunction, cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, cardiomyocyte death, and N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide release; all are classical hallmarks of heart failure. In addition, we demonstrate the scalability of EHM according to anticipated clinical demands for cardiac repair.
Conclusions:
We provide proof-of-concept for a universally applicable technology for the engineering of macroscale human myocardium for disease modeling and heart repair from embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes under defined, serum-free conditions.
More Related Videos
05:05Preparation of Mesh-Shaped Engineered Cardiac Tissues Derived from Human iPS Cells for In Vivo Myocardial Repair
Published on: June 9, 2020
06:173D Human Myocardial Tissue Generation Using Melt Electrospinning Writing of Polycaprolactone Scaffolds and hiPSC-Derived Cardiac Cells
Published on: March 28, 2025
Related Concept Videos
Skeletal Muscle Anatomy
Classification of Skeletal Muscle Fibers
Slow-Twitch Muscle Fibers
Slow oxidative, muscle fibers appear red due to large numbers of capillaries and high levels of...
Overview of Muscle Tissues
Elasticity
Elasticity is the ability of muscles to stretch and return to their original shape. This property is partly due to elastic fibers — macromolecules that run through the muscles. These fibers are firm and resilient,...
Gross Anatomy of Skeletal Muscles
Relaxation of Skeletal Muscles
When an action potential reaches the axon terminal, it depolarizes the membrane and opens voltage-gated sodium channels. Sodium ions enter the cell, further depolarizing the presynaptic membrane. This depolarization causes voltage-gated calcium channels to open.
Muscle Recovery and Fatigue