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Recreating the heart's helical structure-function relationship with focused rotary jet spinning
Huibin Chang1, Qihan Liu1,2, John F Zimmerman1
1Disease Biophysics Group, John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Science, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02134, USA.
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|July 20, 2022
Summary
Helical muscle alignment in engineered heart ventricles improves pumping efficiency. Focused rotary jet spinning (FRJS) fabricates these complex 3D structures, advancing tissue engineering for cardiac repair.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Cardiovascular Research
- Tissue Engineering
Background:
- Cardiac muscle's helical alignment is theorized to optimize heart pumping.
- Replicating the heart's complex microarchitecture is a significant challenge in tissue engineering.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the functional impact of helical vs. circumferential muscle alignment in engineered cardiac ventricles.
- To introduce focused rotary jet spinning (FRJS) as a method for fabricating 3D micro/nanofiber scaffolds with controlled alignments.
Main Methods:
- Focused rotary jet spinning (FRJS) was used to create 3D scaffolds with programmable fiber alignments.
- Cardiomyocytes were seeded onto scaffolds to biofabricate tissue-engineered ventricles.
- Engineered ventricles with helical and circumferential alignments were compared for cardiac function.
Main Results:
- Helically aligned engineered ventricles exhibited more uniform deformations.
- Greater apical shortening and increased ejection fractions were observed in helically aligned models.
- FRJS demonstrated effective control over fiber arrangement in complex 3D geometries.
Conclusions:
- Helical muscle architecture significantly enhances cardiac performance in engineered ventricles.
- FRJS provides a streamlined approach for fabricating functional tissue-engineered organs.
- This study validates the importance of helical structures for efficient cardiac function.
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