Dresden 2017 – scientific programme
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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 7: Posters - Mechanics and Dynamics of 3D Tissues (Focus Session)
BP 7.1: Poster
Monday, March 20, 2017, 17:30–19:30, P3
Contractile performance of cardiac tissues under synchronized mechanical and electrical stimulation — •Delf Kah1, Ingo Thievessen1, Claire Amado2, Julia Kraxner1, Marina Spörrer1, Sandra Wiedenmann1, Wolfgang Goldmann1, and Ben Fabry1 — 1Department of Physics, Biophysics Group, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg, D-91052, Erlangen, Germany — 2Laboratoire de Physique de la Matière Condensée, URA 792 du CNRS, Collège de France, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France
In vitro engineered cardiac tissue grafts are of growing interest either as substitutes for scarred myocardial tissue after infarction or chronic cardiomyopathies, or as a drug testing platform. To investigate how mechanical and electrical conditioning influences the maturation and contractility of engineered cardiac tissue, we developed a stretchable and electrically paceable bioreactor consisting of an array of 4x2 mm microwells with two elastic pillars that serve as force sensors. Cardiac cells mixed with monomeric collagen are added to the microwells and, after polymerization and compaction of the collagen matrix, form an aligned tissue that spans between the pillars. Mechanical stretching with a linear stepper motor, electrical pacing with carbon electrodes, and microscopic imaging of the tissue is synchronized by a microcontroller, allowing us to study isotonic, isometric or eccentric contractions for various pacing protocols. Maximum contractile forces and electrical field strength threshold increased with increasing isotonic load, or pillar stiffness, indicating a pronounced mechanical responsiveness of the cardiomyocytes during the tissue maturation process.