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Probing the mechanobiological properties of human embryonic stem cells in cardiac differentiation by optical tweezers

  • Youhua Tan
  • , Chi wing Kong
  • , Shuxun Chen
  • , Shuk Han Cheng
  • , Ronald A. Li
  • , Dong Sun

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

72 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Human embryonic stem cells (hESC) and hESC-derived cardiomyocytes (hESC-CM) hold great promise for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. However the mechanobiological properties of hESC and hESC-CM remains elusive. In this paper, we examined the dynamic and static micromechanical properties of hESC and hESC-CM, by manipulating via optical tweezers at the single-cell level. Theoretical approaches were developed to model the dynamic and static mechanical responses of cells during optical stretching. Our experiments showed that the mechanical stiffness of differentiated hESC-CM increased after cardiac differentiation. Such stiffening could associate with increasingly organized myofibrillar assembly that underlines the functional characteristics of hESC-CM. In summary, our findings lay the ground work for using hESC-CMs as models to study mechanical and contractile defects in heart diseases.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)123-128
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of Biomechanics
Volume45
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 3 Jan 2012
Externally publishedYes

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

  1. SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
    SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

Keywords

  • Biomechanics
  • Cardiac differentiation
  • Cell manipulation
  • Human embryonic stem cell
  • Optical tweezers

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