Cardiac Cell Patterning on Customized Microelectrode Arrays for Electrophysiological Recordings

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Research
• Biomedical Engineering
• Cellular Electrophysiology

Background:

• Cardiomyocytes (CMs) and fibroblasts are key to cardiac structure and function.
• Interactions between CMs and fibroblasts can alter cardiac electrophysiology, potentially leading to diseases like arrhythmogenesis.
• Current microelectrode array (MEA) platforms have limitations in spatially controlled measurements of CM-fibroblast networks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a custom MEA device and micropatterning method for controlled co-culture of cardiomyocytes and fibroblasts.
• To investigate the electrical coupling dynamics between cardiomyocytes and fibroblasts in a spatially defined network.
• To monitor the electrophysiological impact of fibroblast-mediated connections on cardiomyocyte networks.

Main Methods:

• Utilized surface topographical features and mobile blockers for controlled initial cell attachment.
• Created separate beating cardiomyocyte-fibroblast clusters with connecting fibroblast growth zones.
• Employed a custom MEA device to record extracellular field potentials and impedance profiles.

Main Results:

• Successfully constructed spatially controlled networks of neonatal rat cardiomyocytes (rCMs) and fibroblasts.
• Demonstrated that proliferating fibroblasts connect and couple physically separate cardiomyocyte clusters.
• Observed RC-type coupling and synchronization of cardiomyocyte clusters mediated by fibroblast bridges.

Conclusions:

• The novel micropatterning method enables precise control over cardiac cell network formation and electrical coupling.
• Fibroblast-mediated connections can synchronize spatially separated cardiomyocyte clusters.
• This platform advances the study of cardiac electrophysiology and cell-cell interactions in disease modeling.