A tissue-engineered scale model of the heart ventricle

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Cardiovascular Research
• Tissue Engineering

Background:

• Current heart function studies rely on cell cultures and animal models.
• Measuring pressure and volume dynamics in the heart necessitates animal models.
• Limitations exist in current in vitro and in vivo cardiac research methods.

Purpose of the Study:

• To engineer scalable human left ventricle models.
• To promote native-like anisotropic myocardial tissue development and function.
• To create a platform for cardiac research and disease modeling.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of nanofibrous scaffolds for tissue engineering.
• Seeding scaffolds with neonatal rat ventricular myocytes or human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes.
• Utilizing an instrumented bioreactor for functional assessment and compound testing.

Main Results:

• Developed tissue-engineered ventricles with native-like anisotropic myocardial tissue and chamber-level contractile function.
• Achieved diastolic chamber volumes comparable to native rat ventricles (~500 µl).
• Demonstrated the ability to measure tissue coverage, alignment, calcium transients, and pressure-volume loops, and modeled structural arrhythmia.

Conclusions:

• Tissue-engineered scale models of the human left ventricle offer a viable alternative to animal models.
• These models enable the study of cardiac function, drug effects, and disease mechanisms.
• The platform integrates with existing assays used in animal and clinical settings.