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Cheng S, Brenière-Letuffe D, Ahola V, Wong AO, Keung HY, Gurung B, Zheng Z, Costa KD, Lieu DK, Keung W, Li RA. Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals maturation trajectory in human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes in engineered tissues. iScience 2023; 26:106302. [PMID: 36950112 PMCID: PMC10025988 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2022] [Revised: 01/04/2023] [Accepted: 02/24/2023] [Indexed: 03/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Cardiac in vitro models have become increasingly obtainable and affordable with the optimization of human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocyte (hPSC-CM) differentiation. However, these CMs are immature compared to their in vivo counterparts. Here we study the cellular phenotype of hPSC-CMs by comparing their single-cell gene expression and functional profiles in three engineered cardiac tissue configurations: human ventricular (hv) cardiac anisotropic sheet, cardiac tissue strip, and cardiac organoid chamber (hvCOC), with spontaneously aggregated 3D cardiac spheroids (CS) as control. The CM maturity was found to increase with increasing levels of complexity of the engineered tissues from CS to hvCOC. The contractile components are the first function to mature, followed by electrophysiology and oxidative metabolism. Notably, the 2D tissue constructs show a higher cellular organization whereas metabolic maturity preferentially increases in the 3D constructs. We conclude that the tissue engineering models resembling configurations of native tissues may be reliable for drug screening or disease modeling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shangli Cheng
- Ming Wai Lau Centre for Reparative Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - David Brenière-Letuffe
- Ming Wai Lau Centre for Reparative Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Hong Kong SAR, China
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Intervention and Technology, CLINTEC, Karolinska Institutet, 141 52 Stockholm, Sweden
- Division of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Karolinska Universitetssjukhuset, 141 86 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Virpi Ahola
- Ming Wai Lau Centre for Reparative Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | | | - Hoi Yee Keung
- Ming Wai Lau Centre for Reparative Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Bimal Gurung
- Novoheart, Irvine, CA 92617, USA
- School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Zongli Zheng
- Ming Wai Lau Centre for Reparative Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Kevin D. Costa
- Novoheart, Irvine, CA 92617, USA
- Cardiovascular Research Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Deborah K. Lieu
- Novoheart, Irvine, CA 92617, USA
- Institute for Regenerative Cures and Stem Cell Program, University of California, Davis, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA
| | - Wendy Keung
- Novoheart, Irvine, CA 92617, USA
- Dr. Li Dak Sum Research Centre, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Ronald A. Li
- Novoheart, Irvine, CA 92617, USA
- Corresponding author
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2
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Liu T, Li X, Wang Y, Zhou M, Liang F. Computational modeling of electromechanical coupling in human cardiomyocyte applied to study hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and its drug response. COMPUTER METHODS AND PROGRAMS IN BIOMEDICINE 2023; 231:107372. [PMID: 36736134 DOI: 10.1016/j.cmpb.2023.107372] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2022] [Revised: 01/02/2023] [Accepted: 01/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Knowledge of electromechanical coupling in cardiomyocyte and how it is influenced by various pathophysiological factors is fundamental to understanding the pathogenesis of myocardial disease and its response to medication, which is however hard to be thoroughly addressed by clinical/experimental studies due to technical limitations. At this point, computational modeling offers an alternative approach. The main objective of the study was to develop a computational model capable of simulating the process of electromechanical coupling and quantifying the roles of various factors in play in the human left ventricular cardiomyocyte. METHODS A new electrophysiological model was firstly built by combining several existing electrophysiological models and incorporating the mechanism of electrophysiological homeostasis, which was subsequently coupled to models representing the cross-bridge dynamics and active force generation during excitation-contraction coupling and the passive mechanical properties of cardiomyocyte to yield an integrative electromechanical model. Model parameters were calibrated or optimized based on a large amount of experimental data. The resulting model was applied to delineate the characteristics of electromechanical coupling and explore underlying determinant factors in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) cardiomyocyte, as well as quantify their changes in response to different medications. RESULTS Model predictions captured the major electromechanical characteristics of cardiomyocyte under both normal physiological and HCM conditions. In comparison with normal cardiomyocyte, HCM cardiomyocyte suffered from systemic changes in both electrophysiological and mechanical variables. Numerical simulations of drug response revealed that Mavacamten and Metoprolol could both reduce the active contractility and alleviate calcium overload but had marked differential influences on many other electromechanical variables, which theoretically explained why the two drugs have differential therapeutic effects. In addition, our numerical experiments demonstrated the important role of compensatory ion transport in maintaining electrophysiological homeostasis and regulating cytoplasmic volume. CONCLUSIONS A sophisticated computational model has the advantage of providing quantitative and integrative insights for understanding the pathogenesis and drug responses of HCM or other myocardial diseases at the level of cardiomyocyte, and hence may contribute as a useful complement to clinical/experimental studies. The model may also be coupled to tissue- or organ-level models to strengthen the physiological implications of macro-scale numerical simulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taiwei Liu
- Department of Engineering Mechanics, School of Naval Architecture, Ocean and Civil Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dong Chuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Xuanyu Li
- Department of Engineering Mechanics, School of Naval Architecture, Ocean and Civil Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dong Chuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Yue Wang
- Department of Cardiology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200011, China
| | - Mi Zhou
- Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
| | - Fuyou Liang
- Department of Engineering Mechanics, School of Naval Architecture, Ocean and Civil Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dong Chuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China; State Key Laboratory of Ocean Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China; World-Class Research Center "Digital biodesign and personalized healthcare", Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow 19991, Russia.
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3
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Wang Z, Bian W, Yan Y, Zhang DM. Functional Regulation of KATP Channels and Mutant Insight Into Clinical Therapeutic Strategies in Cardiovascular Diseases. Front Pharmacol 2022; 13:868401. [PMID: 35837280 PMCID: PMC9274113 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2022.868401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2022] [Accepted: 06/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
ATP-sensitive potassium channels (KATP channels) play pivotal roles in excitable cells and link cellular metabolism with membrane excitability. The action potential converts electricity into dynamics by ion channel-mediated ion exchange to generate systole, involved in every heartbeat. Activation of the KATP channel repolarizes the membrane potential and decreases early afterdepolarization (EAD)-mediated arrhythmias. KATP channels in cardiomyocytes have less function under physiological conditions but they open during severe and prolonged anoxia due to a reduced ATP/ADP ratio, lessening cellular excitability and thus preventing action potential generation and cell contraction. Small active molecules activate and enhance the opening of the KATP channel, which induces the repolarization of the membrane and decreases the occurrence of malignant arrhythmia. Accumulated evidence indicates that mutation of KATP channels deteriorates the regulatory roles in mutation-related diseases. However, patients with mutations in KATP channels still have no efficient treatment. Hence, in this study, we describe the role of KATP channels and subunits in angiocardiopathy, summarize the mutations of the KATP channels and the functional regulation of small active molecules in KATP channels, elucidate the potential mechanisms of mutant KATP channels and provide insight into clinical therapeutic strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhicheng Wang
- Department of Cardiology, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Weikang Bian
- Department of Cardiology, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Yufeng Yan
- Department of Cardiology, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Dai-Min Zhang
- Department of Cardiology, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
- Department of Cardiology, Sir Run Run Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
- *Correspondence: Dai-Min Zhang,
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4
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Campostrini G, Meraviglia V, Giacomelli E, van Helden RW, Yiangou L, Davis RP, Bellin M, Orlova VV, Mummery CL. Generation, functional analysis and applications of isogenic three-dimensional self-aggregating cardiac microtissues from human pluripotent stem cells. Nat Protoc 2021; 16:2213-2256. [PMID: 33772245 PMCID: PMC7611409 DOI: 10.1038/s41596-021-00497-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2020] [Accepted: 01/11/2021] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Tissue-like structures from human pluripotent stem cells containing multiple cell types are transforming our ability to model and understand human development and disease. Here we describe a protocol to generate cardiomyocytes (CMs), cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) and cardiac endothelial cells (ECs), the three principal cell types in the heart, from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) and combine them in three-dimensional (3D) cardiac microtissues (MTs). We include details of how to differentiate, isolate, cryopreserve and thaw the component cells and how to construct and analyze the MTs. The protocol supports hiPSC-CM maturation and allows replacement of one or more of the three heart cell types in the MTs with isogenic variants bearing disease mutations. Differentiation of each cell type takes ~30 d, while MT formation and maturation requires another 20 d. No specialist equipment is needed and the method is inexpensive, requiring just 5,000 cells per MT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Campostrini
- Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Viviana Meraviglia
- Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Elisa Giacomelli
- Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Ruben W.J. van Helden
- Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Loukia Yiangou
- Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Richard P. Davis
- Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Milena Bellin
- Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands,Department of Biology, University of Padua, 35121 Padua, Italy,Veneto Institute of Molecular Medicine, 35129 Padua, Italy,Correspondence to , or
| | - Valeria V. Orlova
- Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands,Correspondence to , or
| | - Christine L. Mummery
- Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands,Department of Applied Stem Cell Technologies, University of Twente, The Netherlands,Correspondence to , or
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5
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Wong AOT, Wong N, Geng L, Chow MZY, Lee EK, Wu H, Khine M, Kong CW, Costa KD, Keung W, Cheung YF, Li RA. Combinatorial Treatment of Human Cardiac Engineered Tissues With Biomimetic Cues Induces Functional Maturation as Revealed by Optical Mapping of Action Potentials and Calcium Transients. Front Physiol 2020; 11:165. [PMID: 32226389 PMCID: PMC7080659 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2020.00165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2019] [Accepted: 02/12/2020] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Although biomimetic stimuli, such as microgroove-induced alignment (μ), triiodothyronine (T3) induction, and electrical conditioning (EC), have been reported to promote maturation of human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hPSC-CMs), a systematic examination of their combinatorial effects on engineered cardiac tissue constructs and the underlying molecular pathways has not been reported. Herein, human embryonic stem cell-derived ventricular cardiomyocytes (hESC-VCMs) were used to generate a micro-patterned human ventricular cardiac anisotropic sheets (hvCAS) for studying the physiological effects of combinatorial treatments by a range of functional, calcium (Ca2+)-handling, and molecular analyses. High-resolution optical mapping showed that combined μ-T3-EC treatment of hvCAS increased the conduction velocity, anisotropic ratio, and proportion of mature quiescent-yet-excitable preparations by 2. 3-, 1. 8-, and 5-fold (>70%), respectively. Such electrophysiological changes could be attributed to an increase in inward sodium current density and a decrease in funny current densities, which is consistent with the observed up- and downregulated SCN1B and HCN2/4 transcripts, respectively. Furthermore, Ca2+-handling transcripts encoding for phospholamban (PLN) and sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA) were upregulated, and this led to faster upstroke and decay kinetics of Ca2+-transients. RNA-sequencing and pathway mapping of T3-EC-treated hvCAS revealed that the TGF-β signaling was downregulated; the TGF-β receptor agonist and antagonist TGF-β1 and SB431542 partially reversed T3-EC induced quiescence and reduced spontaneous contractions, respectively. Taken together, we concluded that topographical cues alone primed cardiac tissue constructs for augmented electrophysiological and calcium handling by T3-EC. Not only do these studies improve our understanding of hPSC-CM biology, but the orchestration of these pro-maturational factors also improves the use of engineered cardiac tissues for in vitro drug screening and disease modeling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andy On-Tik Wong
- Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong.,Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Consortium, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong
| | - Nicodemus Wong
- Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Consortium, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong.,Dr. Li Dak-Sum Research Centre, The University of Hong Kong - Karolinska Institutet Collaboration in Regenerative Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong
| | - Lin Geng
- Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Consortium, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong.,Dr. Li Dak-Sum Research Centre, The University of Hong Kong - Karolinska Institutet Collaboration in Regenerative Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong
| | - Maggie Zi-Ying Chow
- Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Consortium, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong
| | - Eugene K Lee
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Hongkai Wu
- Division of Biomedical Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Kowloon, Hong Kong
| | - Michelle Khine
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Chi-Wing Kong
- Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Consortium, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong
| | - Kevin D Costa
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Manhattan, NY, United States
| | - Wendy Keung
- Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Consortium, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong.,Dr. Li Dak-Sum Research Centre, The University of Hong Kong - Karolinska Institutet Collaboration in Regenerative Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong
| | - Yiu-Fai Cheung
- Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong
| | - Ronald A Li
- Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong.,Dr. Li Dak-Sum Research Centre, The University of Hong Kong - Karolinska Institutet Collaboration in Regenerative Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong.,Ming-Wai Lau Centre for Reparative Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
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6
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Papanicolaou KN, Ashok D, Liu T, Bauer TM, Sun J, Li Z, da Costa E, D'Orleans CC, Nathan S, Lefer DJ, Murphy E, Paolocci N, Foster DB, O'Rourke B. Global knockout of ROMK potassium channel worsens cardiac ischemia-reperfusion injury but cardiomyocyte-specific knockout does not: Implications for the identity of mitoKATP. J Mol Cell Cardiol 2020; 139:176-189. [PMID: 32004507 PMCID: PMC7849919 DOI: 10.1016/j.yjmcc.2020.01.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2019] [Revised: 01/16/2020] [Accepted: 01/23/2020] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
The renal-outer-medullary‑potassium (ROMK) channel, mutated in Bartter's syndrome, regulates ion exchange in kidney, but its extra-renal functions remain unknown. Additionally, ROMK was postulated to be the pore-forming subunit of the mitochondrial ATP-sensitive K+ channel (mitoKATP), a mediator of cardioprotection. Using global and cardiomyocyte-specific knockout mice (ROMK-GKO and ROMK-CKO respectively), we characterize the effects of ROMK knockout on mitochondrial ion handling, the response to pharmacological KATP channel modulators, and ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. Mitochondria from ROMK-GKO hearts exhibited a lower threshold for Ca2+-triggered permeability transition pore (mPTP) opening but normal matrix volume changes during oxidative phosphorylation. Isolated perfused ROMK-GKO hearts exhibited impaired functional recovery and increased infarct size when I/R was preceded by an ischemic preconditioning (IPC) protocol. Because ROMK-GKO mice exhibited severe renal defects and cardiac remodeling, we further characterized ROMK-CKO hearts to avoid confounding systemic effects. Mitochondria from ROMK-CKO hearts had unchanged matrix volume responses during oxidative phosphorylation and still swelled upon addition of a mitoKATP opener, but exhibited a lower threshold for mPTP opening, similar to GKO mitochondria. Nevertheless, I/R induced damage was not exacerbated in ROMK-CKO hearts, either ex vivo or in vivo. Lastly, we examined the response of ROMK-CKO hearts to ex vivo I/R injury with or without IPC and found that IPC still protected these hearts, suggesting that cardiomyocyte ROMK does not participate significantly in the cardioprotective pathway elicited by IPC. Collectively, our findings from these novel strains of mice suggest that cardiomyocyte ROMK is not a central mediator of mitoKATP function, although it can affect mPTP activation threshold.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyriakos N Papanicolaou
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Deepthi Ashok
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Ting Liu
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Tyler M Bauer
- Cardiovascular Branch, NHLBI, NIH, 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Junhui Sun
- Cardiovascular Branch, NHLBI, NIH, 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Zhen Li
- Cardiovascular Center of Excellence, Louisiana State University (LSU) Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA, USA; Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, LSU Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA, USA
| | - Eduardo da Costa
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Charles Crepy D'Orleans
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Sara Nathan
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - David J Lefer
- Cardiovascular Center of Excellence, Louisiana State University (LSU) Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA, USA; Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, LSU Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA, USA
| | - Elizabeth Murphy
- Cardiovascular Branch, NHLBI, NIH, 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Nazareno Paolocci
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - D Brian Foster
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Brian O'Rourke
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
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7
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Human-Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Technology and Cardiomyocyte Generation: Progress and Clinical Applications. Cells 2018; 7:cells7060048. [PMID: 29799480 PMCID: PMC6025241 DOI: 10.3390/cells7060048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2018] [Revised: 05/16/2018] [Accepted: 05/22/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) are reprogrammed cells that have hallmarks similar to embryonic stem cells including the capacity of self-renewal and differentiation into cardiac myocytes. The improvements in reprogramming and differentiating methods achieved in the past 10 years widened the use of hiPSCs, especially in cardiac research. hiPSC-derived cardiac myocytes (CMs) recapitulate phenotypic differences caused by genetic variations, making them attractive human disease models and useful tools for drug discovery and toxicology testing. In addition, hiPSCs can be used as sources of cells for cardiac regeneration in animal models. Here, we review the advances in the genetic and epigenetic control of cardiomyogenesis that underlies the significant improvement of the induced reprogramming of somatic cells to CMs; the methods used to improve scalability of throughput assays for functional screening and drug testing in vitro; the phenotypic characteristics of hiPSCs-derived CMs and their ability to rescue injured CMs through paracrine effects; we also cover the novel approaches in tissue engineering for hiPSC-derived cardiac tissue generation, and finally, their immunological features and the potential use in biomedical applications.
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