Heart attack modeled with human stem cells

Toward the development of individual model of ischemic heart disease

Heart attack caused by ischemia is a major medical problem that threatens our healthy life. Researchers at Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences developed a model of myocardial infarction using cardiomyocytes differentiated from human induced pluripotent stem cells.

The journal Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications published the study, with Ken Takahashi, Ph.D., as corresponding author, and Wei Heng, MSc., a graduate student in the Naruse Lab, as first author.

To date, laboratory animals such as mouse have been used to model diseases including myocardial infarction. However, there have been concerns about difference in characteristics of cardiomyocytes e.g. heart rate and action of drugs, based on the difference of gene expression between laboratory animals and human.

Using this model, researchers can evaluate the extent of myocardial tissue damage by microscope morphologically, and by measuring injury-marker proteins and analyzing contractility and its synchroneity from recorded movie quantitatively. Further analysis revealed that gene expression of interleukin-8, an inflammation marker known to increase in acute myocardial infarction, increased in this model.

This myocardial infarction model will contribute to the development of preventive/therapeutic medicine more effective to human even without sacrificing animals.

Ken Takahashi, Ph.D., assistant professor in the university and lead author of the study

Development of a model of ischemic heart disease using cardiomyocytes differentiated from human induced pluripotent stem cells
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bbrc.2019.09.119

This study was supported by the Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (S), No. 26220203 and the Fund for the Promotion of Joint International Research (Fostering Joint International Research), 17KK0168.

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Takahashi Lab at Okayama University uses principles of physiology, cellular and molecular biology, and biophysics. The purpose of the lab is to develop science and medicine by unveiling the mechanisms of diseases through collaborations with scientists, epidemiologists, and corporate alliances. The alliance includes Harvard University, Boston University, Tokyo University of Science, and PD Aerospace, Ltd.