Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 24, 2026

Simultaneous Electrical and Mechanical Stimulation to Enhance Cells' Cardiomyogenic Potential
Published on: January 18, 2019
Ultrasound-triggered dual-mode therapy for heart failure via synchronized electrical stimulation and nitric oxide
Binglin Chen1, Xiaoyun Li1, Zhiyong Liu2
1Department of Cardiovascular Surgery of the First Affiliated Hospital & Institute for Cardiovascular Science, Suzhou Medical College, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215000, PR China.
None:
The multifaceted pathophysiology of heart failure demands therapeutic strategies that can concurrently address its electrophysiological and metabolic components. Here, we report a lead-free and battery-free piezoelectric nanoplatform that, under ultrasound irradiation, serves as a dual-mode platform to simultaneously generate localized electrical stimulation and trigger spatiotemporally controlled nitric oxide (NO) release. In a mouse model of pressure-overload-induced heart failure, this ultrasound-driven regimen restored cardiac contractile function, reversed pathological remodeling, and suppressed arrhythmogenesis. Integrated transcriptomic and proteomic analyses revealed that the therapeutic benefits were mediated by the combined action of electrical stimulation and nitric oxide. Electrical stimulation restored autonomic nervous system balance, and the two factors jointly reprogrammed sphingolipid metabolism to ameliorate mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress. This work offers a paradigm for wire-free, multi-mechanistic cardiac therapy that leverages the non-invasiveness of ultrasound to concurrently rectify electrical and metabolic dysfunctions in the failing heart.
Related Concept Videos
Heart Failure Drugs: Inhibitors of Renin-Angiotensin System
Heart Failure II: Pathophysiology
Heart Failure Drugs: Inotropic Agents

