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Schuftan D, Kooh YKG, Guo J, Sun Y, Aryan L, Stottlemire B, Berkland C, Genin GM, Huebsch N. Dynamic control of contractile resistance to iPSC-derived micro-heart muscle arrays. J Biomed Mater Res A 2024; 112:534-548. [PMID: 37952251 PMCID: PMC10922390 DOI: 10.1002/jbm.a.37642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2023] [Revised: 09/25/2023] [Accepted: 10/24/2023] [Indexed: 11/14/2023]
Abstract
Many types of cardiovascular disease are linked to the mechanical forces placed on the heart. However, our understanding of how mechanical forces exactly affect the cellular biology of the heart remains incomplete. In vitro models based on cardiomyocytes derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC-CM) enable researchers to develop medium to high-throughput systems to study cardiac mechanobiology at the cellular level. Previous models have been developed to enable the study of mechanical forces, such as cardiac afterload. However, most of these models require exogenous extracellular matrix (ECM) to form cardiac tissues. Recently, a system was developed to simulate changes in afterload by grafting ECM-free micro-heart muscle arrays to elastomeric substrates of discrete stiffnesses. In the present study, we extended this system by combining the elastomer-grafted tissue arrays with a magnetorheological elastomeric substrate. This system allows iPSC-CM based micro-heart muscle arrays to experience dynamic changes in contractile resistance to mimic dynamically altered afterload. Acute changes in substrate stiffness led to acute changes in the calcium dynamics and contractile forces, illustrating the system's ability to dynamically elicit changes in tissue mechanics by dynamically changing contractile resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Schuftan
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, McKelvey School of Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Yasaman Kargar Gaz Kooh
- Institute of Materials Science & Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Jingxuan Guo
- Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science, McKelvey School of Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Yuwen Sun
- Institute of Materials Science & Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Lavanya Aryan
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, McKelvey School of Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Bryce Stottlemire
- Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Bioengineering Graduate Program, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA
| | - Cory Berkland
- Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Bioengineering Graduate Program, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA
| | - Guy M. Genin
- Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science, McKelvey School of Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- NSF Center for Engineering Mechanobiology, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Nathaniel Huebsch
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, McKelvey School of Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- NSF Center for Engineering Mechanobiology, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
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Guo J, Jiang H, Schuftan D, Moreno JD, Ramahdita G, Aryan L, Bhagavan D, Silva J, Huebsch N. Mechanical Resistance to Micro-Heart Tissue Contractility unveils early Structural and Functional Pathology in iPSC Models of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. bioRxiv 2023:2023.10.30.564856. [PMID: 37961198 PMCID: PMC10634965 DOI: 10.1101/2023.10.30.564856] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2023]
Abstract
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is the most common cause of sudden death in the young. Because the disease exhibits variable penetrance, there are likely nongenetic factors that contribute to the manifestation of the disease phenotype. Clinically, hypertension is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with HCM, suggesting a potential synergistic role for the sarcomeric mutations associated with HCM and mechanical stress on the heart. We developed an in vitro physiological model to investigate how the afterload that the heart muscle works against during contraction acts together with HCM-linked MYBPC3 mutations to trigger a disease phenotype. Micro-heart muscle arrays (μHM) were engineered from iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes bearing MYBPC3 loss-of-function mutations and challenged to contract against mechanical resistance with substrates stiffnesses ranging from the of embryonic hearts (0.4 kPa) up to the stiffness of fibrotic adult hearts (114 kPa). Whereas MYBPC3 +/- iPSC-cardiomyocytes showed little signs of disease pathology in standard 2D culture, μHMs that included components of afterload revealed several hallmarks of HCM, including cellular hypertrophy, impaired contractile energetics, and maladaptive calcium handling. Remarkably, we discovered changes in troponin C and T localization in the MYBPC3 +/- μHM that were entirely absent in 2D culture. Pharmacologic studies suggested that excessive Ca 2+ intake through membrane-embedded channels, rather than sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca 2+ ATPase (SERCA) dysfunction or Ca 2+ buffering at myofilaments underlie the observed electrophysiological abnormalities. These results illustrate the power of physiologically relevant engineered tissue models to study inherited disease mechanisms with iPSC technology.
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Woodhams LG, Guo J, Schuftan D, Boyle JJ, Pryse KM, Elson EL, Huebsch N, Genin GM. Virtual blebbistatin: A robust and rapid software approach to motion artifact removal in optical mapping of cardiomyocytes. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2212949120. [PMID: 37695908 PMCID: PMC10515162 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2212949120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2022] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 09/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Fluorescent reporters of cardiac electrophysiology provide valuable information on heart cell and tissue function. However, motion artifacts caused by cardiac muscle contraction interfere with accurate measurement of fluorescence signals. Although drugs such as blebbistatin can be applied to stop cardiac tissue from contracting by uncoupling calcium-contraction, their usage prevents the study of excitation-contraction coupling and, as we show, impacts cellular structure. We therefore developed a robust method to remove motion computationally from images of contracting cardiac muscle and to map fluorescent reporters of cardiac electrophysiological activity onto images of undeformed tissue. When validated on cardiomyocytes derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), in both monolayers and engineered tissues, the method enabled efficient and robust reduction of motion artifact. As with pharmacologic approaches using blebbistatin for motion removal, our algorithm improved the accuracy of optical mapping, as demonstrated by spatial maps of calcium transient decay. However, unlike pharmacologic motion removal, our computational approach allowed direct analysis of calcium-contraction coupling. Results revealed calcium-contraction coupling to be more uniform across cells within engineered tissues than across cells in monolayer culture. The algorithm shows promise as a robust and accurate tool for optical mapping studies of excitation-contraction coupling in heart tissue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Louis G Woodhams
- Department of Mechanical Engineering and Material Science, Washington University in Saint Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130
| | - Jingxuan Guo
- Department of Mechanical Engineering and Material Science, Washington University in Saint Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130
| | - David Schuftan
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in Saint Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130
| | - John J Boyle
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in Saint Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130
| | - Kenneth M Pryse
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110
| | - Elliot L Elson
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110
- NSF Science and Technology Center for Engineering Mechanobiology, Washington University in Saint Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130
| | - Nathaniel Huebsch
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in Saint Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130
- NSF Science and Technology Center for Engineering Mechanobiology, Washington University in Saint Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130
| | - Guy M Genin
- Department of Mechanical Engineering and Material Science, Washington University in Saint Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130
- NSF Science and Technology Center for Engineering Mechanobiology, Washington University in Saint Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130
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Oguntuyo K, Schuftan D, Guo J, Simmons D, Bhagavan D, Moreno JD, Kang PW, Miller E, Silva JR, Huebsch N. Robust, Automated Analysis of Electrophysiology in Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Micro-Heart Muscle for Drug Toxicity. Tissue Eng Part C Methods 2022; 28:457-468. [PMID: 35925789 PMCID: PMC9527045 DOI: 10.1089/ten.tec.2022.0053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2022] [Accepted: 05/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Drugs are often removed from clinical trials or market progression owing to their unforeseen effects on cardiac action potential and calcium handling. Induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes and tissues fabricated from these cells are promising as screening tools for early identification of these potential cardiac liabilities. In this study, we describe an automated, open-source MATLAB-based analysis software for calculating cardiac action potentials and calcium transients from fluorescent reporters. We first identified the most robust manner in which to automatically identify the initiation point for action potentials and calcium transients in a user-independent manner, and used this approach to quantify the duration and morphology of these signals. We then demonstrate the software by assessing changes to action potentials and calcium transients in our micro-heart muscles after exposure to hydroxychloroquine, an antimalarial drug with known cardiac liability. Consistent with clinical observations, our system predicted mild action potential prolongation. However, we also observed marked calcium transient suppression, highlighting the advantage of testing multiple physiologic readouts in cardiomyocytes rather than relying on heterologous overexpression of single channels such as the human ether-a-go-go-related gene channel. This open-source software can serve as a useful, high-throughput tool for analyzing cardiomyocyte physiology from fluorescence imaging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kasoorelope Oguntuyo
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - David Schuftan
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Jingxuan Guo
- Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Daniel Simmons
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Druv Bhagavan
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Jonathan D. Moreno
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Po Wei Kang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Evan Miller
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA
| | - Jonathan R. Silva
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Nathaniel Huebsch
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
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Clapacs Z, Neal S, Schuftan D, Tan X, Jiang H, Guo J, Rudra J, Huebsch N. Biocompatible and Enzymatically Degradable Gels for 3D Cellular Encapsulation under Extreme Compressive Strain. Gels 2021; 7:101. [PMID: 34449624 PMCID: PMC8395866 DOI: 10.3390/gels7030101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2021] [Revised: 07/16/2021] [Accepted: 07/21/2021] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Cell encapsulating scaffolds are necessary for the study of cellular mechanosensing of cultured cells. However, conventional scaffolds used for loading cells in bulk generally fail at low compressive strain, while hydrogels designed for high toughness and strain resistance are generally unsuitable for cell encapsulation. Here we describe an alginate/gelatin methacryloyl interpenetrating network with multiple crosslinking modes that is robust to compressive strains greater than 70%, highly biocompatible, enzymatically degradable and able to effectively transfer strain to encapsulated cells. In future studies, this gel formula may allow researchers to probe cellular mechanosensing in bulk at levels of compressive strain previously difficult to investigate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zain Clapacs
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, McKelvey School of Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA; (Z.C.); (S.N.); (D.S.); (X.T.); (H.J.); (J.R.)
| | - Sydney Neal
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, McKelvey School of Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA; (Z.C.); (S.N.); (D.S.); (X.T.); (H.J.); (J.R.)
| | - David Schuftan
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, McKelvey School of Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA; (Z.C.); (S.N.); (D.S.); (X.T.); (H.J.); (J.R.)
| | - Xiaohong Tan
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, McKelvey School of Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA; (Z.C.); (S.N.); (D.S.); (X.T.); (H.J.); (J.R.)
| | - Huanzhu Jiang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, McKelvey School of Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA; (Z.C.); (S.N.); (D.S.); (X.T.); (H.J.); (J.R.)
| | - Jingxuan Guo
- Department of Mechanical Engineering and Material Science, McKelvey School of Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA;
| | - Jai Rudra
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, McKelvey School of Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA; (Z.C.); (S.N.); (D.S.); (X.T.); (H.J.); (J.R.)
| | - Nathaniel Huebsch
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, McKelvey School of Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA; (Z.C.); (S.N.); (D.S.); (X.T.); (H.J.); (J.R.)
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Guo J, Simmons DW, Ramahdita G, Munsell MK, Oguntuyo K, Kandalaft B, Rios B, Pear M, Schuftan D, Jiang H, Lake SP, Genin GM, Huebsch N. Elastomer-Grafted iPSC-Derived Micro Heart Muscles to Investigate Effects of Mechanical Loading on Physiology. ACS Biomater Sci Eng 2020; 7:2973-2989. [PMID: 34275296 DOI: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.0c00318] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Mechanical loading plays a critical role in cardiac pathophysiology. Engineered heart tissues derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) allow rigorous investigations of the molecular and pathophysiological consequences of mechanical cues. However, many engineered heart muscle models have complex fabrication processes and require large cell numbers, making it difficult to use them together with iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes to study the influence of mechanical loading on pharmacology and genotype-phenotype relationships. To address this challenge, simple and scalable iPSC-derived micro-heart-muscle arrays (μHM) have been developed. "Dog-bone-shaped" molds define the boundary conditions for tissue formation. Here, we extend the μHM model by forming these tissues on elastomeric substrates with stiffnesses spanning from 5 to 30 kPa. Tissue assembly was achieved by covalently grafting fibronectin to the substrate. Compared to μHM formed on plastic, elastomer-grafted μHM exhibited a similar gross morphology, sarcomere assembly, and tissue alignment. When these tissues were formed on substrates with different elasticity, we observed marked shifts in contractility. Increased contractility was correlated with increases in calcium flux and a slight increase in cell size. This afterload-enhanced μHM system enables mechanical control of μHM and real-time tissue traction force microscopy for cardiac physiology measurements, providing a dynamic tool for studying pathophysiology and pharmacology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingxuan Guo
- Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Washington University in Saint Louis, University City, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, United States
| | - Daniel W Simmons
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in Saint Louis, University City, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, United States.,NSF Science and Technology Center for Engineering Mechanobiology, McKelvey School of Engineering, 1 Brookings Dr., St. Louis, Missouri 63130, United States
| | - Ghiska Ramahdita
- Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Washington University in Saint Louis, University City, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, United States.,NSF Science and Technology Center for Engineering Mechanobiology, McKelvey School of Engineering, 1 Brookings Dr., St. Louis, Missouri 63130, United States
| | - Mary K Munsell
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in Saint Louis, University City, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, United States
| | - Kasoorelope Oguntuyo
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in Saint Louis, University City, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, United States
| | - Brennan Kandalaft
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in Saint Louis, University City, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, United States
| | - Brandon Rios
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in Saint Louis, University City, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, United States
| | - Missy Pear
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in Saint Louis, University City, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, United States
| | - David Schuftan
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in Saint Louis, University City, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, United States
| | - Huanzhu Jiang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in Saint Louis, University City, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, United States
| | - Spencer P Lake
- Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Washington University in Saint Louis, University City, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, United States
| | - Guy M Genin
- Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Washington University in Saint Louis, University City, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, United States.,NSF Science and Technology Center for Engineering Mechanobiology, McKelvey School of Engineering, 1 Brookings Dr., St. Louis, Missouri 63130, United States
| | - Nathaniel Huebsch
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in Saint Louis, University City, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, United States.,NSF Science and Technology Center for Engineering Mechanobiology, McKelvey School of Engineering, 1 Brookings Dr., St. Louis, Missouri 63130, United States.,Center for Cardiovascular Research, Center for Regenerative Medicine, Center for Investigation of Membrane Excitability Diseases, Washington University in Saint Louis, University City, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, United States
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