Cardiac Beating Clusters
Cardiac Beating Clusters - Related Videos
10:15
Visualizing the Beating Heart in Drosophila
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Cited by 106 •
2009
Technique required for visualizing the beating heart in larval and adult Drosophila are presented. Each life stage requires a different methodology.
05:04
In vitro Assessment of Cardiac Reprogramming by Measuring Cardiac Specific Calcium Flux with a GCaMP3 Reporter
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Cited by 4 •
2022
We describe here, the establishment and application of an Tg(Myh6-cre)1Jmk/J /Gt(ROSA)26Sortm38(CAG-GCaMP3)Hze/J (referred to as αMHC-Cre/Rosa26A-Flox-Stop-Flox-GCaMP3 below) mouse reporter line for cardiac reprogramming assessment. Neonatal cardiac fibroblasts (NCFs) isolated from the mouse strain are converted into induced cardiomyocytes (iCMs), allowing for convenient and efficient evaluation of reprogramming efficiency and functional maturation of iCMs via calcium (Ca2+) flux.
01:09
Beats
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2023
The study of music provides many examples of the superposition of waves and the constructive and destructive interference that occurs. Very few examples of music being performed consist of a single source playing a single frequency for an extended period of time. A single frequency of sound for an extended period might be monotonous to the point of irritation, similar to the unwanted drone of an aircraft engine or a loud fan. Music is pleasant and exciting due to mixing the changing frequencies...
04:40
Creation of Cardiac Tissue Exhibiting Mechanical Integration of Spheroids Using 3D Bioprinting
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Cited by 55 •
2017
This protocol describes 3D bioprinting of cardiac tissue without the use of biomaterials. 3D bioprinted cardiac patches exhibit mechanical integration of component spheroids and are highly promising in cardiac tissue regeneration and as 3D models of heart disease.
08:52
Generation of Murine Cardiac Pacemaker Cell Aggregates Based on ES-Cell-Programming in Combination with Myh6-Promoter-Selection
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Cited by 13 •
2015
This protocol describes how to produce functional sinus nodal tissue from murine pluripotent stem cells (PSC). T-Box3 (TBX3) overexpression plus cardiac Myosin-heavy-chain (Myh6) promoter antibiotic selection leads to highly pure pacemaker cell aggregates. These “Induced-sinoatrial-bodies” (“iSABs”) contain over 80% pacemaker cells, show highly increased beating rates and are able to pace myocardium ex vivo.
FAQs
Intercellular connections enable electrical signals to spread from cell to cell across the aggregate. This communication links the activity of individual cardiac cells, helping the cluster contract in a coordinated rhythm rather than as disconnected units. Measuring synchronization and beating patterns therefore provides information about how cellular organization supports collective cardiac function.
Electrical signaling regulates calcium release inside the cardiac cells, and that calcium activity contributes to contraction. When signaling is coordinated across the aggregate, calcium-related activity supports synchronized beating. Observing changes in contraction or rhythm can therefore help researchers examine how cellular communication influences the functional behavior of engineered cardiac tissue models.
Researchers can expose the clusters to drugs, biomaterials, or disease-related conditions and then examine resulting changes in beating patterns or contractile behavior. These interventions provide controlled ways to investigate how external influences affect coordinated cardiac activity. The compact aggregate format also supports comparisons across experimental conditions in in vitro studies.
A typical study organizes cardiac cells as three-dimensional aggregates, permits intercellular connections to develop, and then monitors their rhythmic activity. Researchers can compare the resulting contractions under different experimental conditions, including exposure to candidate drugs, biomaterials, or disease-related influences. This workflow links tissue organization with measurable functional outcomes without requiring a complete engineered heart tissue.
Beating patterns can indicate whether cardiac cells are communicating and contracting in a coordinated manner. Researchers may use these observations to assess contractile behavior, examine tissue organization, and identify functional changes after an intervention. Because the activity is measurable in vitro, the clusters can serve as reproducible assay formats for comparing cardiac responses.
These clusters provide an intermediate model that preserves coordinated activity among multiple cardiac cells while remaining more compact than larger engineered tissues. That position allows bioengineering studies to connect cellular behavior with tissue-level organization. Researchers can use the model to investigate cardiac development and function while evaluating how experimental conditions influence collective contraction.