Abstract P1067: A Perfused In Vitro Model Of Embryonic Heart Tube: Leveraging 3D Bioprinting And Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Technologies To Study Heart Development
Overview
Research
Identity
Additional Document Info
Other
View All
Overview
abstract
Human heart development is an intricate dynamic process that remains barely understood, due to the limited access to the developing human heart in utero and the lack of effective modeling systems. Rapid advances in 3D bioprinting and stem cell technologies have enabled the fabrication of cardiovascular tissues with complex structures and microenvironment. Here we present a perfusable model of human embryonic heart tube manufactured using digital light processing (DLP) 3D bioprinting. The bioprinted model contains an endocardium, a cardiac jelly, and a myocardial layer resembling the structure of the human linear heart tube on day 22 ( Figure 1A-D ). Human iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) and umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were used to cellularize the constructs ( Figure 1F ). Full endothelialization of the heart tube lumen and expression of cardiac troponin T in the myocardial layer were confirmed via immunofluorescent staining ( Figure 1F ). Global tissue contraction in culture demonstrated the viability and cardiac function of the engineered model. Single-cell RNA sequencing further examined the gene expression profiles across different experimental groups. This study establishes the first perfusable model of human embryonic heart tube, which can serve as a robust platform to decipher the complex cellular processes underlying early heart development and the potential impact of microenvironmental factors on these events. Figure 1: A-D: Design of a developing human heart model on embryonic day 22. E-H: The workflow to bioprint ( E ), cellularize ( F ), and conduct dynamic culture ( G-H ) of the embryonic heart models using a perfusion bioreactor system.
