Temperature Dependence of the Beating Frequency of hiPSC-CMs Using a MEMS Force Sensor

It is expected that human iPS cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) can be used to treat serious heart diseases. However, the properties and functions of human adult cardiomyocytes and hiPSC-CMs, including cell maturation, differ. In this study, we focused on the temperature dependence of hiPSC-CMs by integrating the temperature regulation system into our sensor platform, which can directly and quantitatively measure their mechanical motion. We measured the beating frequency of hiPSC-CMs at different environmental temperatures and found that the beating frequency increased as the temperature increased. Although the rate at which the beating frequency increased with temperature varied, the temperature at which the beating stopped was relatively stable at approximately 20 °C. The stopping of beating at this temperature was stable, even in immature hiPSC-CMs, and was considered to be a primitive property of cardiomyocytes.