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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 7: Poster Session I

BP 7.49: Poster

Montag, 9. März 2026, 15:00–17:00, P5

Mechanics of reconstituted cardiac microtissues — •Polina Malova, Mattias Luber, Noemie Veyret, Anna Mukhina, Till Münker, and Timo Betz — Georg-August Universität Göttingen

Cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of mortality in Western countries [1]. Heart failure, which characterized by reduced cardiac output, myocardial thickening, and diminished contractile strength is among them and is highly prevalent. Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) are widely used for cardiac disease modelling and drug screening due to a preservation of patient-specific genetic backgrounds [2]. hiPSC-derived engineered human myocardium (EHM) microtissues provide an opportunity for in vitro research of the cardiac environment in a three-dimensional (3-D) system. Despite extensive characterization of the heart as a complex 3-D system, the mechanics of cellular interactions within the cardiac tissue still require detailed clarification. This work examines how cells within EHM microtissues mechanically interact with neighbouring cells and the extracellular environment to generate observed load curves. We compare contraction profiles of tissues composed of cardiomyocytes with cardiac fibroblasts to those containing cardiomyocytes with human foreskin fibroblasts. In addition, we investigate the contribution of extracellular matrix homeostatic tension to the mechanics of the 3-D system. These findings support the further development of 3-D tissue models for patient-specific drug screening.

[1] World Health Organization, 2022

[2] Takahashi K, Yamanaka S., 2006

Keywords: cardiac microtissues; induced pluripotent stem cells; cardiomyocytes; cardiac fibroblasts; tissue mechanics