Functional 3D in vitro myocardial model
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| Year of publication | 2024 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
| Citation | |
| Description | Current cardiology focuses on the search for new sources of cardiomyocytes for transplantation therapy, and for the study of cardiomyopathies in patient-like models. New cardiomyocytes can be obtained from pluripotent stem cells or by primary reprogramming of e.g. fibroblasts. Both procedures can yield genotype- matched cardiomyocytes to those of the patient. At present, the preparation of a sufficient number of cardiomyocytes and the creation of a model simulating the myocardium for in vitro testing remain undefined. In our laboratory, we focus on the development of cardiomyocytes from human pluripotent stem cells from patients. Using a variety of techniques, we create a 3D in vitro model of the myocardium to better reflect the complexity of the patient's myocardium compared to a 2D cell culture. The quality of the resulting myocardial models is assessed with respect to contraction stability, structure, phenotype and cellular organization. We work with cell spheroid and tissue ring models. Tissue rings in particular appear to be very promising models for future research because they can be used to observe the transmission of electrical activity and mechanical contraction within a single compartment. To ensure stable contraction, we use the formation of conduction cardiomyocytes together with atrial cardiomyocytes and their subsequent connection with ventricular cardiomyocytes. The model thus becomes more complex, and we hypothesize that it better simulates the function of the real myocardium and its responses to experimental interventions to study pathological conditions and their treatment. |
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