Low-adhesion culture selection for human iPS cell-derived cardiomyocytes

Tetsutaro Kikuchi1, Katsuhisa Matsuura2, Tatsuya Shimizu2

  • 1Institute of Advanced Biomedical Engineering and Science, Tokyo Women's Medical University (TWIns), 8-1 Kawada-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 162-8666, Japan. kikuchi.tetsutaro@twmu.ac.jp.

Scientific Reports
|May 14, 2024
PubMed

Insights

Researchers developed a novel low-adhesion culture method to enrich cardiomyocytes derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells. This technique effectively isolates functional cardiomyocytes, offering a promising alternative to existing selection strategies.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Stem Cell Biology
  • Biotechnology

Background:

  • Generating cardiomyocytes from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) is crucial for regenerative medicine and disease modeling.
  • Current hiPSC-derived cardiomyocyte populations often contain non-contractile cells, requiring efficient selection methods for experimental consistency.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate low-adhesion culture as a novel method for enriching cardiomyocytes derived from hiPSCs.
  • To compare the efficacy and functional outcomes of low-adhesion culture selection with established cardiomyocyte selection techniques.

Main Methods:

  • hiPSC-derived cardiac cells were cultured on low-adhesion surfaces using bovine serum albumin and dextran sulfate.
  • Comparison of low-adhesion culture with glucose-free culture and puromycin resistance gene selection.
  • Assessment of cardiomyocyte purity, function (pulsation, beta-adrenergic response), and gene expression related to subtype commitment and maturation.

Main Results:

  • Low-adhesion culture significantly increased the proportion of cardiac troponin T-positive cardiomyocytes.
  • Enriched cardiomyocytes maintained autonomous pulsation and responsiveness to beta-adrenergic stimuli.
  • No significant differences in subtype commitment or maturation gene expression were observed compared to other methods.

Conclusions:

  • hiPSC-derived cardiomyocytes exhibit greater resistance to low-adhesion culture compared to non-contractile cells.
  • Low-adhesion culture selection is a viable and effective alternative for obtaining purified populations of hiPSC-derived cardiomyocytes.