Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 5, 2026

In vitro Assessment of Cardiac Reprogramming by Measuring Cardiac Specific Calcium Flux with a GCaMP3 Reporter
Published on: February 22, 2022
An In Vitro Model for Identifying Cardiac Side Effects of Anesthetics
Alex C Y Chang1, Andrew C H Chang, Luka Nicin
1From the *Baxter Laboratory for Stem Cell Biology, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California †Stanford Cardiovascular Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California ‡Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California §Division of Cardiology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington ‖Department of Anesthesia, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California ¶Palo Alto Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Palo Alto, California.
Abstract:
The understanding of anesthetic side effects on the heart has been hindered by the lack of sophisticated clinical models. Using micropatterned human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes, we obtained cardiac muscle depressant profiles for propofol, etomidate, and our newly identified anesthetic compound KSEB01-S2. Propofol was the strongest depressant among the 3 compounds tested, exhibiting the largest decrease in contraction velocity, depression rate, and beating frequency. Interestingly, KSEB01-S2 behaved similarly to etomidate, suggesting a better cardiac safety profile. Our results provide a proof-of-concept for using human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes as an in vitro platform for future drug design.
Related Concept Videos
Local Anesthetics: Adverse Effects
Once absorbed into the systemic circulation, local anesthetics can affect the organs that depend on the functioning of sodium...
Local Anesthetics: Pharmacokinetics
Inhalational Anesthetics: Overview
Parenteral Anesthetics: Overview
Local Anesthetics: Mechanism of Action
Local anesthetics are amphiphilic molecules consisting of a hydrophobic aromatic part linked to a hydrophilic group by an ester or amide linkage. They are weak bases and are usually available as salts, which increases their solubility and stability. Once administered, LAs exist in the body either...
Buffer Effectiveness
The buffer capacity is the amount of acid or base that can be added to a given volume...

