Effects of substrate mechanics on contractility of cardiomyocytes generated from human pluripotent stem cells

Laurie B. Hazeltine, Chelsey S. Simmons, Max R. Salick, Xiaojun Lian, Mehmet G. Badur, Wenqing Han, Stephanie M. Delgado, Tetsuro Wakatsuki, Wendy C. Crone, Beth L. Pruitt, Sean P. Palecek

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

143 Scopus citations

Abstract

Human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC-) derived cardiomyocytes have potential applications in drug discovery, toxicity testing, developmental studies, and regenerative medicine. Before these cells can be reliably utilized, characterization of their functionality is required to establish their similarity to native cardiomyocytes. We tracked fluorescent beads embedded in 4.4-99.7kPa polyacrylamide hydrogels beneath contracting neonatal rat cardiomyocytes and cardiomyocytes generated from hPSCs via growth-factor-induced directed differentiation to measure contractile output in response to changes in substrate mechanics. Contraction stress was determined using traction force microscopy, and morphology was characterized by immunocytochemistry for α-actinin and subsequent image analysis. We found that contraction stress of all types of cardiomyocytes increased with substrate stiffness. This effect was not linked to beating rate or morphology. We demonstrated that hPSC-derived cardiomyocyte contractility responded appropriately to isoprenaline and remained stable in culture over a period of 2 months. This study demonstrates that hPSC-derived cardiomyocytes have appropriate functional responses to substrate stiffness and to a pharmaceutical agent, which motivates their use in further applications such as drug evaluation and cardiac therapies.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number508294
JournalInternational Journal of Cell Biology
DOIs
StatePublished - 2012

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Cell Biology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Effects of substrate mechanics on contractility of cardiomyocytes generated from human pluripotent stem cells'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this