Controlled Electrophysiological Maturation of Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes

摘要

Incorporation of NO-generating ligands into biomaterial scaffolds may be useful in enhancing maturity of stem dell-derived cardiomyocytes. Although results do not indicate significant differences among the normalized percent beating and average beat frequency of EBs cultured under tested conditions, there is a trend toward higher spontaneous contractile activity for EBs treated with Cys-NO between days 10-14. Current experiments are further elucidating the developmental properties of EBs cultured in NO-rich environments. Spontaneous contraction is known to decrease as cardiomyocytes reach late-stage differentiation; therefore immunostaining, RT-PCR, and patch-clamp analysis will be used to more clearly elucidate NO-induced changes in electrophysiological maturity.