Directed differentiation protocols enable derivation of cardiomyocytes from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSC) and permit engineering of human myocardium in vitro. However, hPSC-derived cardiomyocytes are reflective of very early human development, limiting their utility in the generation of in vitro models of mature myocardium. Here, we developed a new platform that combines three-dimensional cell cultivation in a microfabricated system with electrical stimulation to mature hPSC-derived cardiac tissues. We utilized quantitative structural, molecular and electrophysiological analyses to elucidate the responses of immature human myocardium to electrical stimulation and pacing. We demonstrated that the engineered platform allowed for the generation of 3-dimensional, aligned cardiac tissues (biowires) with frequent striations. Biowires submitted to electrical stimulation markedly increased myofibril ultrastructural organization, displayed elevated conduction velocity and altered both the electrophysiological and Ca2+ handling properties versus non-stimulated controls. These changes were in agreement with cardiomyocyte maturation and were dependent on the stimulation rate.

Cell replacement therapy with multi-potent neural stem/progenitor cells (NSPCs) into the injured spinal cord is limited by poor survival and host tissue integration. An injectable and biocompatible polymeric cell delivery system serves as a promising strategy to facilitate cell delivery, promote cell survival and direct cell behaviour. We developed and characterized the use of a physical hydrogel blend of hyaluronan (HA) and methylcellulose (MC) for NSPC delivery, and incorporated electrospun fibers of either collagen or poly(3-caprolactone-co-D,L-lactide) (P(CL:DLLA)) to promote cell-matrix interactions and influence cell behaviour. The shear-thinning and thermally reversible HAMC had a zero-shear viscosity of 1.2 Pa s at 25 C, formed a weak gel at 37 C with a yield stress of 0.5 Pa, and swelled to 115% of its original volume after one day. HAMC was both cytocompatible and allowed NSPC differentiation in vitro, similar to what one would observe in media. Interestingly, cells cultured in HAMC remained homogeneously dispersed over the 7 d culture period, unlike those cultured in media controls where significant cell aggregation was observed. Inclusion of electrospun fibers in the HAMC hydrogel further influenced cell behaviour. Composite systems of collagen fibers in HAMC resulted in reduced survival/proliferation and differentiation relative to HAMC itself whereas composites of P(CL:DLLA) fibers in HAMC maintained cell survival/proliferation and enhanced neuronal and oligodendrocytic differentiation similar to HAMC. In this study, the importance of the cell delivery vehicle to NSPC survival and cell fate was demonstrated in vitro and is being tested in ongoing studies in vivo.

While in nature the formation of complex tissues is gradually shaped by the long journey of development, in tissue engineering constructing complex tissues relies heavily on our ability to directly manipulate and control the micro-cellular environment in vitro. Not surprisingly, advancements in both microfabrication and nanofabrication have powered the field of tissue engineering in many aspects. Focusing on cardiac tissue engineering, this paper highlights the applications of fabrication techniques in various aspects of tissue engineering research: (1) cell responses to micro- and nanopatterned topographical cues, (2) cell responses to patterned biochemical cues, (3) controlled 3D scaffolds, (4) patterned tissue vascularization and (5) electromechanical regulation of tissue assembly and function.

The majority of available cardiomyocyte markers are intercellular proteins, limiting our ability to enrich live cardiomyocytes from heterogeneous cell preparations in the absence of genetic labeling. Here, we describe enrichment of live cardiomyocytes from the hearts of adult mice in a label-free microfluidic approach. The separation device consisted of a vertical column (15 mm long, 700 μm diameter), placed between permanent magnets resulting in a field strength of 1.23 T. To concentrate the field at the column wall, the column was wrapped with 69 μm diameter nickel wire. Before passing the cells through the column, the cardiomyocytes in the cell suspension had been rendered paramagnetic by treatment of the adult mouse heart cell preparation with sodium nitrite (2.5 mM) for 20 min on ice. The cell suspension was loaded into the vertical column from the top and upon settling, the non-myocytes were removed by the upward flow from the column. The cardiomyocytes were then collected from the column by applying a higher flow rate (144 μl/min). We found that by applying a separation flow rate of 4.2 μl/min in the first step, we can enrich live adult cardiomyocytes to 93% ± 2% in a label-free manner. The cardiomyocytes maintained viability immediately after separation and upon 24 h in culture.

Methods that increase cardiomyocyte survival upon exposure to ischemia, hypoxia and reoxygenation injuries are required to improve the efficacy of cardiac cell therapy and enhance the viability and function of engineered tissues. We investigated the effect of combined hypoxia/NaNO2 pretreatment on rat neonatal cardiomyocyte (CM), cardiac fibroblast, and human embryonic stem cell-derived CM (hESC-CM) survival upon exposure to hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) injury in vitro. Cells were pretreated with and without hypoxia and/or various concentrations of NaNO2 for 20 min, then incubated for 2 h under hypoxic conditions, followed by 2 h in normoxia. The control cells were maintained under normoxia for 4 h. Pretreatment with either hypoxia or NaNO2 significantly increased CM viability but had no effect on cardiac fibroblast viability. Combined hypoxia/NaNO2 pretreatment significantly increased CM viability but significantly decreased cardiac fibroblast viability. In rat neonatal CMs, cell death, as determined by lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity, was significantly reduced with hypoxia/NaNO2 pretreatment; and in hESC-CMs, hypoxia/NaNO2 pretreatment increased the BCL-2/BAX gene expression ratio, suggesting that hypoxia/NaNO2 pretreatment promotes cell viability by downregulating apoptosis. Additionally, we found a correlation between the prosurvival effect of hypoxia/NaNO2 pretreatment and the myoglobin content of the cells by comparing neonatal rat ventricular and atrial CMs, which express high and low myoglobin respectively. Functionally, hypoxia/NaNO2 pretreatment significantly improved the excitation threshold upon H/R injury to the level observed for uninjured cells, whereas pretreatment did not affect the maximum capture rate. Hence, hypoxia/NaNO2 pretreatment may serve as a strategy to increase CM survival in cardiac regenerative therapy applications and tissue engineering.