Modeling the Response of Heart Muscle to Mechanical Stimulation In Vitro

This review summarizes current in vitro tools used for developing engineered heart muscle and studying the response of these tissues to mechanical loading changes that simulate the mechanical cues that heart muscle experiences in vivo. Advances in stem cell technology allow researchers to model genetically inherited disease phenotypes in vitro. However, one major challenge for in vitro disease modeling and drug screening is that the cardiomyocytes in simple monolayer culture are normally not exposed to the mechanical stimuli that the heart experiences in vivo. Mechanical loading is critical to heart development and pathophysiology. In vitro models have shown that cells in culture can respond to mechanical conditioning, and in some cases, this condition is critical for maturing stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes. Tools from mechanobiology have broadened the view of how physical cues guide cardiomyocyte behavior and function. This review highlights in vitro technologies for developing cardiac models and studying cardiac responses to mechanical loading.