Applications of optogenetic tandem-cell units for in vitro study of cardiac electrophysiology
Embargo until
2020-08-01
Date
2019-07-12
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Johns Hopkins University
Abstract
Optogenetics and tandem-cell units are an important tool for studying cardiac electrophysiology, and this work explores a few of the exciting avenues of study they enable. In Chapters 2 and 3, myofibroblasts and fibroblasts are transduced with channelrhodopsin-2 and co-cultured with cardiomyocytes to acutely demonstrate that both are electrically connected enough to cardiomyocytes to produce changes in cardiomyocyte electrophysiology, which has implications for treating conduction slowing after cardiac injury. In Chapter 4, a simple, scalable method to use tandem-cell units to point-pace cells in culture to mature them is developed, which has the potential to make them more useful for in vitro study, drug testing, and tissue engineering. Finally, in Chapter 5, an engineered tissue from decellularized extracellular matrix is developed that represents the next step for the applications in the previous chapters by providing important physiological cues, which should improve their relevance and accuracy.
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Keywords
fibroblast, myofibroblast, cardiac electrophysiology, optogenetics, tissue engineering, extracellular matrix