A phenotypic in vitro model for the main determinants of human whole heart function

This article details the construction and testing of a phenotypic assay system that models in vivo cardiac function in a parallel in vitro environment with human stem cell derived cardiomyocytes. The major determinants of human whole-heart function were experimentally modeled by integrating separate 2D cellular systems with BioMicroelectromechanical Systems (BioMEMS) constructs. The model features a serum-free defined medium to enable both acute and chronic evaluation of drugs and toxins. The integration of data from both systems produced biologically relevant predictions of cardiac function in response to varying concentrations of selected drugs. Sotalol, norepinephrine and verapamil were shown to affect the measured parameters according to their specific mechanism of action, in agreement with clinical data. This system is applicable for cardiac side effect assessment, general toxicology, efficacy studies, and evaluation of in vitro cellular disease models in body-on-a-chip systems.