scholarly journals Current strategies of mechanical stimulation for maturation of cardiac microtissues

Author(s):  
Maria Carlos-Oliveira ◽  
Ferran Lozano-Juan ◽  
Paola Occhetta ◽  
Roberta Visone ◽  
Marco Rasponi

AbstractThe most advanced in vitro cardiac models are today based on the use of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs); however, the maturation of cardiomyocytes (CMs) has not yet been fully achieved. Therefore, there is a rising need to move towards models capable of promoting an adult-like cardiomyocytes phenotype. Many strategies have been applied such as co-culture of cardiomyocytes, with fibroblasts and endothelial cells, or conditioning them through biochemical factors and physical stimulations. Here, we focus on mechanical stimulation as it aims to mimic the different mechanical forces that heart receives during its development and the post-natal period. We describe the current strategies and the mechanical properties necessary to promote a positive response in cardiac tissues from different cell sources, distinguishing between passive stimulation, which includes stiffness, topography and static stress and active stimulation, encompassing cyclic strain, compression or perfusion. We also highlight how mechanical stimulation is applied in disease modelling.

2018 ◽  
Vol 373 (1750) ◽  
pp. 20170214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah F. McComish ◽  
Maeve A. Caldwell

Effective and efficient generation of human neural stem cells and subsequently functional neural populations from pluripotent stem cells has facilitated advancements in the study of human development and disease modelling. This review will discuss the established protocols for the generation of defined neural populations including regionalized neurons and astrocytes, oligodendrocytes and microglia. Early protocols were established in embryonic stem cells (ESC) but the discovery of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) in 2006 provided a new platform for modelling human disorders of the central nervous system (CNS). The ability to produce patient- and disease-specific iPSC lines has created a new age of disease modelling. Human iPSC may be derived from adult somatic cells and subsequently patterned into numerous distinct cell types. The ability to derive defined and regionalized neural populations from iPSC provides a powerful in vitro model of CNS disorders. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Designer human tissue: coming to a lab near you’.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivana Acimovic ◽  
Aleksandra Vilotic ◽  
Martin Pesl ◽  
Alain Lacampagne ◽  
Petr Dvorak ◽  
...  

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs), namely, embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), with their ability of indefinite self-renewal and capability to differentiate into cell types derivatives of all three germ layers, represent a powerful research tool in developmental biology, for drug screening, disease modelling, and potentially cell replacement therapy. Efficient differentiation protocols that would result in the cell type of our interest are needed for maximal exploitation of these cells. In the present work, we aim at focusing on the protocols for differentiation of hPSCs into functional cardiomyocytesin vitroas well as achievements in the heart disease modelling and drug testing on the patient-specific iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CMs).


Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 1127
Author(s):  
Alessandro Cutarelli ◽  
Vladimir A. Martínez-Rojas ◽  
Alice Tata ◽  
Ingrid Battistella ◽  
Daniela Rossi ◽  
...  

Methods for the conversion of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) into motor neurons (MNs) have opened to the generation of patient-derived in vitro systems that can be exploited for MN disease modelling. However, the lack of simplified and consistent protocols and the fact that hiPSC-derived MNs are often functionally immature yet limit the opportunity to fully take advantage of this technology, especially in research aimed at revealing the disease phenotypes that are manifested in functionally mature cells. In this study, we present a robust, optimized monolayer procedure to rapidly convert hiPSCs into enriched populations of motor neuron progenitor cells (MNPCs) that can be further amplified to produce a large number of cells to cover many experimental needs. These MNPCs can be efficiently differentiated towards mature MNs exhibiting functional electrical and pharmacological neuronal properties. Finally, we report that MN cultures can be long-term maintained, thus offering the opportunity to study degenerative phenomena associated with pathologies involving MNs and their functional, networked activity. These results indicate that our optimized procedure enables the efficient and robust generation of large quantities of MNPCs and functional MNs, providing a valid tool for MNs disease modelling and for drug discovery applications.


Amyloid ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 148-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard M. Giadone ◽  
Jessica D. Rosarda ◽  
Prithvi Reddy Akepati ◽  
Arianne C. Thomas ◽  
Batbold Boldbaatar ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 301-307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaifang Wang ◽  
Maryam Farzaneh

Primary Ovarian Insufficiency (POI) is one of the main diseases causing female infertility that occurs in about 1% of women between 30-40 years of age. There are few effective methods for the treatment of women with POI. In the past few years, stem cell-based therapy as one of the most highly investigated new therapies has emerged as a promising strategy for the treatment of POI. Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) can self-renew indefinitely and differentiate into any type of cell. Human Embryonic Stem Cells (hESCs) as a type of pluripotent stem cells are the most powerful candidate for the treatment of POI. Human-induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (hiPSCs) are derived from adult somatic cells by the treatment with exogenous defined factors to create an embryonic-like pluripotent state. Both hiPSCs and hESCs can proliferate and give rise to ectodermal, mesodermal, endodermal, and germ cell lineages. After ovarian stimulation, the number of available oocytes is limited and the yield of total oocytes with high quality is low. Therefore, a robust and reproducible in-vitro culture system that supports the differentiation of human oocytes from PSCs is necessary. Very few studies have focused on the derivation of oocyte-like cells from hiPSCs and the details of hPSCs differentiation into oocytes have not been fully investigated. Therefore, in this review, we focus on the differentiation potential of hPSCs into human oocyte-like cells.


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