Culturing of Cardiac Fibroblasts in Engineered Heart Matrix Reduces Myofibroblast Differentiation but Maintains Their Response to Cyclic Stretch and Transforming Growth Factor β1.

ABSTRACT: Isolation and culturing of cardiac fibroblasts (CF) induces rapid differentiation toward a myofibroblast phenotype, which is partly mediated by the high substrate stiffness of the culture plates. In the present study, a 3D model of Engineered Heart Matrix (EHM) of physiological stiffness (Youngs modulus ~15 kPa) was developed using primary adult rat CF and a natural hydrogel collagen type 1 matrix. CF were equally distributed, viable and quiescent for at least 13 days in EHM and the baseline gene expression of myofibroblast-markers alfa-smooth muscle actin (Acta2), and connective tissue growth factor (Ctgf) was significantly lower, compared to CF cultured in 2D monolayers. CF baseline gene expression of transforming growth factor-beta1 (Tgfβ1) and brain natriuretic peptide (Nppb) was highe

SUBMITTER: Ploeg MC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9598692 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature