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Updated: Dec 6, 2025
Chemotherapy-induced Vascular Toxicity - Real-time In vivo Imaging of Vessel Impairment
Published on: January 7, 2015
Cellular model systems to study cardiovascular injury from chemotherapy
Hananeh Fonoudi1,2, Paul W Burridge3,4
1Department of Pharmacology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA.
Abstract:
In spite of all the efforts for generating efficient pharmacological treatment options for cancer patients, the unwanted side effect of these substances on the cardiovascular system is becoming a major issue for cancer survivors. The fast pacing oncology field necessitate the quest for more accurate and reliable preclinical screenings. hiPSCs derived cardiomyocytes, endothelial and vascular smooth muscle cells provide unlimited source of physiologically relevant cells that could be used in the screening platforms. Cells derived from hiPSCs can measure drug induced alterations to different aspect of the heart including electrophysiology, contractility and structure. In this review, we will give an overview of the different in vivo and in vitro preclinical drug safety screenings. In following sections, we will focus on hiPSCs derived cardiomyocytes, endothelial and vascular smooth muscle cells and present the current knowledge of the application of these cells in unicellular cardiotoxicity assays. In the final part, we will focus on cardiac organoids as multi cell type platform and their role in cardiotoxicity screening of the chemotherapeutic drugs.
Insights
Cardiotoxicity from cancer drugs is a major concern. Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) offer promising cell models for preclinical drug screening to ensure cardiovascular safety in cancer survivors.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Research
- Stem Cell Biology
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Cancer therapies often cause cardiotoxicity, impacting cancer survivor health.
- Current preclinical drug safety screenings lack accuracy and reliability.
- Cardiovascular side effects necessitate improved methods for drug evaluation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review in vivo and in vitro preclinical drug safety screenings.
- To highlight the application of hiPSC-derived cells in cardiotoxicity assays.
- To discuss cardiac organoids as advanced platforms for drug safety testing.
Main Methods:
- Overview of existing preclinical drug safety screening methods.
- Focus on human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) derived cardiomyocytes, endothelial, and vascular smooth muscle cells.
- Exploration of unicellular assays and multi-cellular cardiac organoids.
Main Results:
- hiPSC-derived cells provide a scalable source of relevant cardiovascular cells.
- These cells enable measurement of drug-induced alterations in cardiac electrophysiology, contractility, and structure.
- Cardiac organoids offer a multi-cellular platform for comprehensive cardiotoxicity assessment.
Conclusions:
- hiPSC-derived cells are valuable tools for preclinical cardiotoxicity screening.
- Advanced cell models like cardiac organoids improve the accuracy of drug safety evaluations.
- These approaches are crucial for developing safer cancer therapies and improving survivor outcomes.
