Journal article
Coculturing with endothelial cells promotes in vitro maturation and electrical coupling of human embryonic stem cell–derived cardiomyocytes
J Pasquier, R Gupta, D Rioult, J Hoarau-Véchot, R Courjaret, K Machaca, J Al Suwaidi, EG Stanley, S Rafii, DA Elliott, C Abi Khalil, A Rafii
Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation | ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC | Published : 2017
Abstract
Background Pluripotent human embryonic stem cells (hESC) are a promising source of repopulating cardiomyocytes. We hypothesized that we could improve maturation of cardiomyocytes and facilitate electrical interconnections by creating a model that more closely resembles heart tissue; that is, containing both endothelial cells (ECs) and cardiomyocytes. Methods We induced cardiomyocyte differentiation in the coculture of an hESC line expressing the cardiac reporter NKX2.5-green fluorescent protein (GFP), and an Akt-activated EC line (E4+ECs). We quantified spontaneous beating rates, synchrony, and coordination between different cardiomyocyte clusters using confocal imaging of Fura Red–detected ..
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Awarded by Qatar National Research Fund under its National Priorities Research Program
Funding Acknowledgements
The authors thank the Flow Cytometry Facility within the Microscopy Core at Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar for contributing to these studies. The Core is supported by the "Biomedical Research Program at Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar," a program funded by Qatar Foundation. The authors acknowledge Andrew Bliszczyk for editorial assistance.r The funding for execution of these studies was secured from approved non-United States federal funding resources. This publication was made possible by grants from the Qatar National Research Fund under its National Priorities Research Program award numbers NPRP 09-1087-3-274, NPRP 5-475-3-127, NPRP 6-1131-3-268, NPRP 8-1898-3-392, and NPRP 9-169-3-024. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Qatar National Research Fund.