2019/05/29
RIKEN
Keio University
ETH Zurich
An international joint research team, including Team Leader Yo Tanaka and Researcher Nobuyuki Tanaka of the Laboratory for Integrated Biodevice at the RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR), Assistant Professor Tadahiro Yamashita of the Faculty of Science and Technology at Keio University, and Professor Viola Vogel of the Department of Health Sciences and Technology at ETH Zurich, has revealed that by culturing rat cardiomyocytes on a sheet engraved with micro-grooves, they can spontaneously form a three-dimensional beating tissue that bridges the grooves, called a "myocardial bridge." They also demonstrated that its properties can realize a functionality that could be described as a "micro-heart."
The results of this research are expected to be used as an experimental model for how cardiomyocytes assemble to form a heart, as a system for cardiotoxicity and drug efficacy tests in the field of drug discovery, and even as a micro-power source that utilizes the beating itself.
The international joint research team focused on the fact that cells exhibit different behaviors when cultured in a confined small environment compared to when they are not. They created a structure by engraving grooves 0.15 mm deep and 0.2 mm wide on a silicone rubber sheet, placed it in a culture dish, and cultured rat cardiomyocytes (approximately 0.02 mm in size) for seven days. As a result, the cardiomyocytes naturally gathered together, forming a large, bridge-like cell tissue (myocardial bridge) between the grooves. Furthermore, by utilizing the deflection of the microstructure caused by the beating of the myocardial bridge, they were able to move the culture medium filling the space. Through this series of results, a functionality that could be described as a "micro-heart" was achieved.
This research was published in the online edition of the Dutch scientific journal "Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical" on April 18.
For the full press release, please see below.