Manipulating Mechanical Forces in the Developing Zebrafish Heart Using Magnetic Beads

Mechanical forces continuously provide feedback to heart valve morphogenetic programs. In zebrafish, cardiac valve development relies on heart contraction and physical stimuli generated by the beating heart. Intracardiac hemodynamics, driven by blood flow, emerge as fundamental information shaping the development of the embryonic heart. Here, we describe an effective method to manipulate mechanical forces in vivo by grafting a 30 µm to 60 µm diameter magnetic bead in the cardiac lumen. The insertion of the bead is conducted through microsurgery in anesthetized larvae without perturbing heart function and enables artificial alteration of the boundary conditions, thereby modifying flow forces in the system. As a result, the presence of the bead amplifies the mechanical forces experienced by endocardial cells and can directly trigger mechanical stimulus-dependent calcium influx. This approach facilitates the investigation of mechanotransduction pathways that govern heart development and can provide insights into the role of mechanical forces in cardiac valve morphogenesis.