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Cardiac tissue engineering is an emerging field providing tools to treat and study cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). In the past years, the integration of stem cell technologies with micro- and nanoengineering techniques has enabled the creation of novel engineered cardiac tissues (ECTs) with potential applications in disease modeling, drug screening, and regenerative medicine. However, a major unaddressed limitation of stem cell-derived ECTs is their immature state, resembling a neonatal phenotype and genotype. The modulation of the cellular microenvironment within the ECTs has been proposed as an efficient mechanism to promote cellular maturation and improve features such as cellular coupling and synchronization. The integration of biological and nanoscale cues in the ECTs could serve as a tool for the modification and control of the engineered tissue microenvironment. Here we present a proof-of-concept study for the integration of biofunctionalized gold nanoribbons (AuNRs) with hiPSC-derived isogenic cardiac organoids to enhance tissue function and maturation. We first present extensive characterization of the synthesized AuNRs, their PEGylation and cytotoxicity evaluation. We then evaluated the functional contractility and transcriptomic profile of cardiac organoids fabricated with hiPSC-derived cardiomyocytes (mono-culture) as well as with hiPSC-derived cardiomyocytes and cardiac fibroblasts (co-culture). We demonstrated that PEGylated AuNRs are biocompatible and do not induce cell death in hiPSC-derived cardiac cells and organoids. We also found an improved transcriptomic profile of the co-cultured organoids indicating maturation of the hiPSC-derived cardiomyocytes in the presence of cardiac fibroblasts. Overall, we present for the first time the integration of AuNRs into cardiac organoids, showing promising results for improved tissue function.
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This content will become publicly available on December 1, 2026
Human iPSC-Based in Vitro Cardiovascular Tissue Models for Drug Screening Applications
Purpose of Review To provide an overview of human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived cardiovascular lineages and describe their impact on drug testing in vitro. Recent Findings hiPSCs have garnered tremendous interest over the last decade due to their potential for unlimited proliferation and differentiation into cardiovascular lineages. Technologies using tissue engineering, 3D bioprinting, and organ-ona-chip platforms composed of hiPSC derivatives can produce cardiovascular tissue mimetics that enhance drug screening applications. Summary: hiPSC-derived cardiovascular lineages advance drug screening efforts by using autologous cells that are more therapeutically relevant. Established approaches to reproducibly generate hiPSC-derived cardiovascular lineages and their subsequent organization into 3D constructs more accurately mimic the physiological organization of cardiac tissue, leading to improved identification of potential drug targets for therapeutic testing.
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- PAR ID:
- 10651184
- Publisher / Repository:
- Springer
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Current Cardiology Reports
- Volume:
- 27
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 1523-3782
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 145
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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