Cardioids reveal self-organizing principles of human cardiogenesis
2021
Vienna BioCenter, Vienna, Austria
Organoids capable of forming tissue-like structures enable the modelling of human diseases and their development. In this study, self-assembling cardioids (mini-hearts) were generated from human pluripotent stem cells that self-specify, self-structure, and transform into chamber-like structures with a cavity. The complexity of cardioids can be controlled by signals that direct the separation of cardiomyocyte and endothelial layers, as well as epicardial spreading, inward migration, and differentiation. Cardiomyocyte morphogenesis was found to be controlled by a mesodermal WNT-BMP signalling axis and its target required HAND1, a transcription factor associated with ventricular defects. After cryoinjury, cardioids initiated cell-type-dependent accumulation of extracellular matrix, an early feature of both regeneration and cardiac disease. Thus, human cardioids provide a powerful platform to mechanistically study self-assembly and congenital heart defects and serve as a basis for future research.
Cardioids reveal self-organizing principles of human cardiogenesis
Sasha Mendjan
Added on: 01-31-2022
[1] https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(21)00537-7?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0092867421005377%3Fshowall%3Dtrue
