Researchers develop organoid of human heart chamber that could revolutionize drug discovery

A team of researchers from Boston University (BU; MA, USA) have developed a novel method of studying the human heart, utilizing stem-cell derived cardiomyocytes. The researchers created an organoid of a human heart chamber from a combination of nanoengineered parts and human heart tissue.

The organoid beats in the same way a human heart does, and the research team suggest it will give a more accurate understanding of how the organ functions, how it develops in the embryo and how various diseases impact it. Additionally, it may be useful for testing the potential effects of novel treatments.

Alice White, BU college of College of Engineering professor and chair of mechanical engineering, stated: “we can study disease progression in a way that hasn’t been possible before, we chose to work on heart tissue because of its particularly complicated mechanics, but we showed that, when you take nanotechnology and marry it with tissue engineering, there’s potential for replicating this for multiple organs.”

According to the research team, they will be able to utilize this technique to create lab-based versions of other organs, such as kidneys or lungs. In addition, they claimed that the organoid may accelerate drug development and could ensure the process is cost-effective.

The miniPUMP measures 3 centimeters squared and its components are fitted onto a thin piece of 3D-printed plastic. It also has miniature acrylic valves that open and close to control the flow of water and small tubes that behave like arteries and veins. Stem-cell derived cardiomyocytes cause the heart tissue to contract.

Christos Michas, a postdoctoral researcher who designed and led the development of the miniPUMP as part of his PhD thesis, explained: “with this system, if I take cells from you, I can see how the drug would react in you, because these are your cells. This system replicates better some of the function of the heart, but at the same time, gives us the flexibility of having different humans that it replicates. It’s a more predictive model to see what would happen in humans—without actually getting into humans.”

The aim of this project is ultimately to regenerate diseased human heart tissue and develop artificial implantable patches to treat heart attacks or heart disease.

Source: Michas C, Karakan C, Nautiyal P et al. Engineering a living cardiac pump on a chip using high-precision fabrication. Sci. Adv. 8(16) (2022).

Press release: www.bu.edu/articles/2022/new-miniature-heart-could-help-test-heart-disease-cures/