Epicardially secreted fibronectin drives cardiomyocyte maturation in 3D-engineered heart tissues

• Author(s): Ong et al.
• Year: 2023
• DOI: 10.1016/j.stemcr.2023.03.002
• PMID: 37001515
• Related Product:
• Research Areas: Artificial Muscle Physiological Tissue
• Disease Models: Cardiovascular

Overview

This study utilizes human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)-derived cardiomyocytes to explore ischemic heart failures. While previous studies demonstrate the potential of these cardiomyocytes to remuscularize infarcted hearts and ultimately improve function, they remain immature. As such, the researchers explore the role of epicardial fibronectin (FN1) as a mediator of hPSC-derived cardiomyocyte maturation in 3D-engineered heart tissues (3D-EHTs). Loss of FN1 results in immature cardiomyocytes with decreased contractile function, while supplementing with recombinant human FN1 facilitates the recovery of cardiomyocyte maturation in 3D-EHTs. Together, these findings highlight FN1 as a key driver of hPSC-derived cardiomyocyte maturation.