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Optical mapping of impulse propagation in engineered cardiac tissue.

ABSTRACT: Cardiac tissue engineering has a potential to provide functional, synchronously contractile tissue constructs for heart repair, and for studies of development and disease using in vivo-like yet controllable in vitro settings. In both cases, the utilization of bioreactors capable of providing biomimetic culture environments is instrumental for supporting cell differentiation and functional assembly. In the present study, neonatal rat heart cells were cultured on highly porous collagen scaffolds in bioreactors with electrical field stimulation. A hallmark of excitable tissues such as myocardium is the ability to propagate electrical impulses. We utilized the method of optical mapping to measure the electrical impulse propagation. The average conduction velocity recorded for the stimulated constructs (14.4 +/- 4.1 cm/s) was significantly higher than that of the nonstimulated constructs (8.6 +/- 2.3 cm/s, p = 0.003). The measured electrical propagation properties correlated to the contractile behavior and the compositions of tissue constructs. Electrical stimulation during culture significantly improved amplitude of contractions, tissue morphology, and connexin-43 expression compared to the nonsimulated controls. These data provide evidence that electrical stimulation during bioreactor cultivation can improve electrical signal propagation in engineered cardiac constructs.

SUBMITTER: Radisic M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2759871 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Optical mapping of impulse propagation in engineered cardiac tissue.

Radisic Milica M Fast Vladimir G VG Sharifov Oleg F OF Iyer Rohin K RK Park Hyoungshin H Vunjak-Novakovic Gordana G

Tissue engineering. Part A 20090401 4

Cardiac tissue engineering has a potential to provide functional, synchronously contractile tissue constructs for heart repair, and for studies of development and disease using in vivo-like yet controllable in vitro settings. In both cases, the utilization of bioreactors capable of providing biomimetic culture environments is instrumental for supporting cell differentiation and functional assembly. In the present study, neonatal rat heart cells were cultured on highly porous collagen scaffolds i ...[more]

PMID: 18847360

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Project description:BackgroundSimultaneous optical mapping of multiple electrophysiologically relevant parameters in living myocardium is desirable for integrative exploration of mechanisms underlying heart rhythm generation under normal and pathophysiologic conditions. Current multiparametric methods are technically challenging, usually involving multiple sensors and moving parts, which contributes to high logistic and economic thresholds that prevent easy application of the technique.ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to develop a simple, affordable, and effective method for spatially resolved, continuous, simultaneous, and multiparametric optical mapping of the heart, using a single camera.MethodsWe present a new method to simultaneously monitor multiple parameters using inexpensive off-the-shelf electronic components and no moving parts. The system comprises a single camera, commercially available optical filters, and light-emitting diodes (LEDs), integrated via microcontroller-based electronics for frame-accurate illumination of the tissue. For proof of principle, we illustrate measurement of four parameters, suitable for ratiometric mapping of membrane potential (di-4-ANBDQPQ) and intracellular free calcium (fura-2), in an isolated Langendorff-perfused rat heart during sinus rhythm and ectopy, induced by local electrical or mechanical stimulation.ResultsThe pilot application demonstrates suitability of this imaging approach for heart rhythm research in the isolated heart. In addition, locally induced excitation, whether stimulated electrically or mechanically, gives rise to similar ventricular propagation patterns.ConclusionCombining an affordable camera with suitable optical filters and microprocessor-controlled LEDs, single-sensor multiparametric optical mapping can be practically implemented in a simple yet powerful configuration and applied to heart rhythm research. The moderate system complexity and component cost is destined to lower the threshold to broader application of functional imaging and to ease implementation of more complex optical mapping approaches, such as multiparametric panoramic imaging. A proof-of-principle application confirmed that although electrically and mechanically induced excitation occur by different mechanisms, their electrophysiologic consequences downstream from the point of activation are not dissimilar.

Dataset Information

Optical mapping of impulse propagation in engineered cardiac tissue.

Publications

Optical mapping of impulse propagation in engineered cardiac tissue.

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