Journal
BIOMATERIALS
Volume 302, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2023.122363
Keywords
sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS); poly(vinyl) alcohol (PVA); Desmoplakin; Sarcomere organization; Calcium handling; FluoVolt; poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Electrospun conductive polymer fiber mesh promotes electrical signal propagation and maturation in hPSC-CMs, providing a potential tool for modeling cardiac diseases and developing targeted therapies.
Despite numerous efforts to generate mature human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hPSC-CMs), cells often remain immature, electrically isolated, and may not reflect adult biology. Conductive polymers are attractive candidates to facilitate electrical communication between hPSC-CMs, especially at sub-confluent cell densities or diseased cells lacking cell-cell junctions. Here we electrospun conductive polymers to create a conductive fiber mesh and assess if electrical signal propagation is improved in hPSC-CMs seeded on the mesh network. Matrix characterization indicated fiber structure remained stable over weeks in buffer, scaffold stiffness remained near in vivo cardiac stiffness, and electrical conductivity scaled with conductive polymer concentration. Cells remained adherent and viable on the scaffolds for at least 5 days. Transcriptomic profiling of hPSC-CMs cultured on conductive substrates for 3 days showed upregulation of cardiac and muscle-related genes versus non-conductive fibers. Structural proteins were more organized and calcium handling was improved on conductive substrates, even at sub-confluent cell densities; prolonged culture on conductive scaffolds improved membrane depolarization compared to non-conductive substrates. Taken together, these data suggest that blended, conductive scaffolds are stable, supportive of electrical coupling in hPSC-CMs, and promote maturation, which may improve our ability to model cardiac diseases and develop targeted therapies.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available