Key points from article :
Lab-grown human heart cells provide a powerful tool to understand and potentially treat heart disease but methods are not optimal.
The role of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins in the generation of heart cells derived from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) have been investigated.
With a better understanding of ECM, researchers will be able to develop heart muscle cells, called cardiomyocytes.
“By understanding the roles of ECM, this study will help to develop more robust methods and protocols for generation of hPSC-CMs,” says Jianhua Zhang, a senior scientist.
The next step could be using hPSC-cardiomyocytes for disease modeling, drug screening, cardiac regeneration and cell therapy.
Research carried at the University of Wisconsin–Madison Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine Center and published in eLife.
