Human Cardiac Organoids to Model COVID-19 Cytokine Storm Induced Cardiac Injuries.
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ABSTRACT: Acute cardiac injuries occur in 20-25% of hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Despite urgent needs, there is a lack of 3D organotypic models of COVID-19 hearts for mechanistic studies and drug testing. Herein, we demonstrate that human cardiac organoids (hCOs) are a viable platform to model the cardiac injuries caused by COVID-19 hyperinflammation. As IL-1βis an upstream cytokine and a core COVID-19 signature cytokine, it was used to stimulate hCOs to induce the release of a milieu of proinflammatory cytokines that mirror the profile of COVID-19 cytokine storm. The IL-1 β treated hCOs recapitulated transcriptomic, structural, and functional signatures of COVID-19 hearts. The comparison of IL-1β treated hCOs with cardiac tissue from COVID-19 autopsies illustrated the critical roles of hyper-inflammation in COVID-19 cardiac insults and indicated the cardioprotective effects of endothelium. The IL-1β treated hCOs also provide a viable model to assess the efficacy and potential side effects of immunomodulatory drugs, as well as the reversibility of COVID-19 cardiac injuries at baseline and simulated exercise conditions.
SUBMITTER: Arhontoulis DC
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8820666 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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