For this purpose, the team led by Dr. Sasha Menjan has developed and patented a new stem cell technology. From induced pluripotent stem cells, obtained from blood or skin samples, self-organizing "mini hearts" (cardioids) are created with the help of certain factors. In this process, a few stem cells form a heart-like structure with various cell types, heart wall, and chambers. A scaffold of polymers is assembled and populated with different heart cell types.
The models offer new insights into human heart development: they show the development of the heart in an embryonic phase and may offer insight into the development of diseases, because the interaction of cells during development, including maldevelopment, can be studied.
The researchers recapitulated that shape development of the heart's cavities is controlled by a WNT-BMP signaling axis of the mesoderm and requires the transcription factor HAND1. HAND proteins are expressed in the developing ventricular chambers and play an essential role in shaping the heart. Their impairment is associated with defects in the human ventricles. Thus, cardioids can be used to study not only self-organization but also congenital heart defects.
A major medical long-term goal is to find a way to "cure" hearts after infarction.
Original publication:
Hofbauer P, Jahnel SM, Papai N, et al (2021). Cardioids reveal self-organizing principles. Cell, In Press, Corrected Proof. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2021.04.034
Sources:
https://www.oeaw.ac.at/imba/research-highlights
https://www.bionity.com/de/news/1171188/pulsierende-herzen-in-der-petrischale.html