Summary
Published in Journal of Visualized Experiments (2021), this peer-reviewed study used 3D Petri Dish® micro-molds to form scaffold-free 3D microtissues. Full citation: Thomas, Dilip, et al. Fabrication of 3D Cardiac Microtissue Arrays using Human iPSC-Derived Cardiomyocytes, Cardiac Fibroblasts, and Endothelial Cells
Fabrication of 3D Cardiac Microtissue Arrays using Human iPSC-Derived Cardiomyocytes, Cardiac Fibroblasts, and Endothelial Cells
Research Overview
Deriving cardiomyocytes, cardiac fibroblasts, and endothelial cells from iPSCs opens a path to studying how these cell types interact during cardiac development and disease. Sophisticated 3D cardiac models exist, but many combine extracellular matrices and crosslinkers in ways that demand microfabrication expertise, take weeks to assemble, and — most importantly — lack vasculature.
This study addressed those constraints with microtissue arrays built from human iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes, offering a simpler and faster route to physiologically relevant cardiac tissue that incorporates the multiple cell types found in native myocardium.
Key Discoveries
- Cardiac microtissue arrays built from iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes, fibroblasts, and endothelial cells
- Avoids the microfabrication expertise and multi-week assembly of matrix-and-crosslinker systems
- Addresses the lack of vascular components in existing 3D cardiac models
