Human-iPSC-Derived Cardiac Stromal Cells Enhance Maturation in 3D Cardiac Microtissues and Reveal Non-cardiomyocyte Contributions to Heart Disease.

ABSTRACT: Cardiomyocytes (CMs) from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) are functionally immature, but this is improved by incorporation into engineered tissues or forced contraction. Here, we showed that tri-cellular combinations of hiPSC-derived CMs, cardiac fibroblasts (CFs), and cardiac endothelial cells also enhance maturation in easily constructed, scaffold-free, three-dimensional microtissues (MTs). hiPSC-CMs in MTs with CFs showed improved sarcomeric structures with T-tubules, enhanced contractility, and mitochondrial respiration and were electrophysiologically more mature than MTs without CFs. Interactions mediating maturation included coupling between hiPSC-CMs and CFs through connexin 43 (CX43) gap junctions and increased intracellular cyclic AMP (cAMP). Scaled production of tho

SUBMITTER: Giacomelli E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7284308 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature