Models of heart disease and drug responses are increasingly based on human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) since their ability to capture human heart (dys-)function is often better than animal models. Simple monolayer cultures of hPSC-derived cardiomyocytes, however, have shortcomings. Some of these can be overcome using more complex, multi cell-type models in 3D. Here we review modalities that address this, describe efforts to tailor readouts and sensors for monitoring tissue- and cell physiology (exogenously and in situ) and discuss perspectives for implementation in industry and academia.
Keywords: Cardiac microtissue; Cardiomyocyte maturation; Engineered heart tissue; Functional readout; Heart-on-chip; Human induced pluripotent stem cells; Multicellular cell diseases and drug efficacy platform; Structural readout.
© 2022 The Authors.