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Lemme M, Braren I, Prondzynski M, Aksehirlioglu B, Ulmer BM, Schulze ML, Ismaili D, Meyer C, Hansen A, Christ T, Lemoine MD, Eschenhagen T. Chronic intermittent tachypacing by an optogenetic approach induces arrhythmia vulnerability in human engineered heart tissue. Cardiovasc Res 2020; 116:1487-1499. [PMID: 31598634 PMCID: PMC7314638 DOI: 10.1093/cvr/cvz245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2019] [Revised: 07/31/2019] [Accepted: 10/04/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
AIMS Chronic tachypacing is commonly used in animals to induce cardiac dysfunction and to study mechanisms of heart failure and arrhythmogenesis. Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) may replace animal models to overcome species differences and ethical problems. Here, 3D engineered heart tissue (EHT) was used to investigate the effect of chronic tachypacing on hiPSC-cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs). METHODS AND RESULTS To avoid cell toxicity by electrical pacing, we developed an optogenetic approach. EHTs were transduced with lentivirus expressing channelrhodopsin-2 (H134R) and stimulated by 15 s bursts of blue light pulses (0.3 mW/mm2, 30 ms, 3 Hz) separated by 15 s without pacing for 3 weeks. Chronic optical tachypacing did not affect contractile peak force, but induced faster contraction kinetics, shorter action potentials, and shorter effective refractory periods. This electrical remodelling increased vulnerability to tachycardia episodes upon electrical burst pacing. Lower calsequestrin 2 protein levels, faster diastolic depolarization (DD) and efficacy of JTV-519 (46% at 1 µmol/L) to terminate tachycardia indicate alterations of Ca2+ handling being part of the underlying mechanism. However, other antiarrhythmic compounds like flecainide (69% at 1 µmol/L) and E-4031 (100% at 1 µmol/L) were also effective, but not ivabradine (1 µmol/L) or SEA0400 (10 µmol/L). CONCLUSION We demonstrated a high vulnerability to tachycardia of optically tachypaced hiPSC-CMs in EHT and the effective termination by ryanodine receptor stabilization, sodium or hERG potassium channel inhibition. This new model might serve as a preclinical tool to test antiarrhythmic drugs increasing the insight in treating ventricular tachycardia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta Lemme
- Institute of Experimental Pharmacology and Toxicology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistrasse 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
- DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), Partner Site Hamburg/Kiel/Lübeck, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Ingke Braren
- Institute of Experimental Pharmacology and Toxicology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistrasse 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
- DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), Partner Site Hamburg/Kiel/Lübeck, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Maksymilian Prondzynski
- Institute of Experimental Pharmacology and Toxicology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistrasse 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
- DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), Partner Site Hamburg/Kiel/Lübeck, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
- Department of Cardiology, Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA
| | - Bülent Aksehirlioglu
- Institute of Experimental Pharmacology and Toxicology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistrasse 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Bärbel M Ulmer
- Institute of Experimental Pharmacology and Toxicology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistrasse 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
- DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), Partner Site Hamburg/Kiel/Lübeck, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Mirja L Schulze
- Institute of Experimental Pharmacology and Toxicology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistrasse 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
- DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), Partner Site Hamburg/Kiel/Lübeck, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Djemail Ismaili
- Department of Cardiology-Electrophysiology, University Heart Center, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Christian Meyer
- DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), Partner Site Hamburg/Kiel/Lübeck, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
- Department of Cardiology-Electrophysiology, University Heart Center, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Arne Hansen
- Institute of Experimental Pharmacology and Toxicology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistrasse 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
- DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), Partner Site Hamburg/Kiel/Lübeck, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Torsten Christ
- Institute of Experimental Pharmacology and Toxicology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistrasse 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
- DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), Partner Site Hamburg/Kiel/Lübeck, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Marc D Lemoine
- Institute of Experimental Pharmacology and Toxicology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistrasse 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
- DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), Partner Site Hamburg/Kiel/Lübeck, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
- Department of Cardiology-Electrophysiology, University Heart Center, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Thomas Eschenhagen
- Institute of Experimental Pharmacology and Toxicology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistrasse 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
- DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), Partner Site Hamburg/Kiel/Lübeck, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
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Castro L, Geertz B, Reinsch M, Aksehirlioglu B, Hansen A, Eschenhagen T, Reichenspurner H, Weinberger F, Pecha S. Implantation of hiPSC-derived Cardiac-muscle Patches after Myocardial Injury in a Guinea Pig Model. J Vis Exp 2019. [PMID: 30933073 DOI: 10.3791/58810] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Due to the limited regeneration capacity of the heart in adult mammals, myocardial infarction results in an irreversible loss of cardiomyocytes. This loss of relevant amounts of heart muscle mass can lead to the heart failure. Besides heart transplantation, there is no curative treatment option for the end-stage heart failure. In times of organ donor shortage, organ independent treatment modalities are needed. Left-ventricular assist devices are a promising therapy option, however, especially as destination therapy, limited by its side-effects like stroke, infections and bleedings. In recent years, several cardiac repair strategies including stem cell injection, cardiac progenitors or myocardial tissue engineering have been investigated. Recent improvements in cell biology allow for the differentiation of large amounts of cardiomyocytes derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC). One of the cardiac repair strategies currently under evaluation is to transplant artificial heart tissue. Engineered heart tissue (EHT) is a three-dimensional in vitro created cardiomyocyte network, with functional properties of native heart tissue. We have created EHT-patches from hiPSC derived cardiomyocytes. Here we present a protocol for the induction of left ventricular myocardial cryoinjury in a guinea pig, followed by implantation of hiPSC derived EHT on the left ventricular wall.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liesa Castro
- Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, University Heart Center Hamburg; partner site Hamburg/Kiel/Lübeck, German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK)
| | - Birgit Geertz
- Department of Experimental Pharmacology and Toxicology, Cardiovascular ResearchCenter, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf
| | - Marina Reinsch
- partner site Hamburg/Kiel/Lübeck, German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK); Department of Experimental Pharmacology and Toxicology, Cardiovascular ResearchCenter, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf
| | - Bülent Aksehirlioglu
- Department of Experimental Pharmacology and Toxicology, Cardiovascular ResearchCenter, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf
| | - Arne Hansen
- partner site Hamburg/Kiel/Lübeck, German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK); Department of Experimental Pharmacology and Toxicology, Cardiovascular ResearchCenter, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf
| | - Thomas Eschenhagen
- partner site Hamburg/Kiel/Lübeck, German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK); Department of Experimental Pharmacology and Toxicology, Cardiovascular ResearchCenter, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf
| | - Hermann Reichenspurner
- Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, University Heart Center Hamburg; partner site Hamburg/Kiel/Lübeck, German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK)
| | - Florian Weinberger
- partner site Hamburg/Kiel/Lübeck, German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK); Department of Experimental Pharmacology and Toxicology, Cardiovascular ResearchCenter, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf
| | - Simon Pecha
- Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, University Heart Center Hamburg; partner site Hamburg/Kiel/Lübeck, German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK);
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Stoehr A, Neuber C, Baldauf C, Vollert I, Friedrich FW, Flenner F, Carrier L, Eder A, Schaaf S, Hirt MN, Aksehirlioglu B, Tong CW, Moretti A, Eschenhagen T, Hansen A. Automated analysis of contractile force and Ca2+ transients in engineered heart tissue. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 2014; 306:H1353-63. [PMID: 24585781 DOI: 10.1152/ajpheart.00705.2013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Contraction and relaxation are fundamental aspects of cardiomyocyte functional biology. They reflect the response of the contractile machinery to the systolic increase and diastolic decrease of the cytoplasmic Ca(2+) concentration. The analysis of contractile function and Ca(2+) transients is therefore important to discriminate between myofilament responsiveness and changes in Ca(2+) homeostasis. This article describes an automated technology to perform sequential analysis of contractile force and Ca(2+) transients in up to 11 strip-format, fibrin-based rat, mouse, and human fura-2-loaded engineered heart tissues (EHTs) under perfusion and electrical stimulation. Measurements in EHTs under increasing concentrations of extracellular Ca(2+) and responses to isoprenaline and carbachol demonstrate that EHTs recapitulate basic principles of heart tissue functional biology. Ca(2+) concentration-response curves in rat, mouse, and human EHTs indicated different maximal twitch forces (0.22, 0.05, and 0.08 mN in rat, mouse, and human, respectively; P < 0.001) and different sensitivity to external Ca(2+) (EC50: 0.15, 0.39, and 1.05 mM Ca(2+) in rat, mouse, and human, respectively; P < 0.001) in the three groups. In contrast, no difference in myofilament Ca(2+) sensitivity was detected between skinned rat and human EHTs, suggesting that the difference in sensitivity to external Ca(2+) concentration is due to changes in Ca(2+) handling proteins. Finally, this study confirms that fura-2 has Ca(2+) buffering effects and is thereby changing the force response to extracellular Ca(2+).
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Stoehr
- Department of Experimental Pharmacology and Toxicology, Cardiovascular Research Center, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistraße, Hamburg, Germany
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Seiffert M, Sander M, Vollert I, Eder A, Schaaf S, Conradi L, Schulze T, Uebeler J, Aksehirlioglu B, Reichenspurner H, Hansen A, Eschenhagen T. Oxygen diffusion in fibrin-based engineered heart tissue and the effect of artificial oxygen carriers. Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2013. [DOI: 10.1055/s-0032-1332579] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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Hansen A, Eder A, Bönstrup M, Flato M, Mewe M, Schaaf S, Aksehirlioglu B, Schwoerer AP, Schwörer A, Uebeler J, Eschenhagen T. Development of a drug screening platform based on engineered heart tissue. Circ Res 2010; 107:35-44. [PMID: 20448218 DOI: 10.1161/circresaha.109.211458] [Citation(s) in RCA: 333] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Tissue engineering may provide advanced in vitro models for drug testing and, in combination with recent induced pluripotent stem cell technology, disease modeling, but available techniques are unsuitable for higher throughput. OBJECTIVE Here, we present a new miniaturized and automated method based on engineered heart tissue (EHT). METHODS AND RESULTS Neonatal rat heart cells are mixed with fibrinogen/Matrigel plus thrombin and pipetted into rectangular casting molds in which two flexible silicone posts are positioned from above. Contractile activity is monitored video-optically by a camera and evaluated by a custom-made software program. Fibrin-based mini-EHTs (FBMEs) (150 microL, 600 000 cells) were transferred from molds to a standard 24-well plate two hours after casting. Over time FBMEs condensed from a 12x3x3 mm gel to a muscle strip of 8 mm length and, depending on conditions, 0.2 to 1.3 mm diameter. After 8 to 10 days, FBMEs started to rhythmically deflect the posts. Post properties and the extent of post deflection allowed calculation of rate, force (0.1 to 0.3 mN), and kinetics which was validated in organ baths experiments. FBMEs exhibited a well-developed, longitudinally aligned actinin-positive cardiac muscle network and lectin-positive vascular structures interspersed homogeneously throughout the construct. Analysis of a large series of FBME (n=192) revealed high yield and reproducibility and stability for weeks. Chromanol, quinidine, and erythromycin exerted concentration-dependent increases in relaxation time, doxorubicin decreases in contractile force. CONCLUSIONS We developed a simple technique to construct large series of EHT and automatically evaluate contractile activity. The method shall be useful for drug screening and disease modeling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arne Hansen
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Cardiovascular Research Center, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany
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