Rick Xing Ze Lu, Naimeh Rafatian, Yimu Zhao, Karl T Wagner, Erika L Beroncal, Bo Li, Carol Lee, Jingan Chen, Eryn Churcher, Daniel Vosoughi, Chuan Liu, Ying Wang, Andrew Baker, Uriel Trahtemberg, Bowen Li, Agostino Pierro, Ana C Andreazza, Claudia C Dos Santos, Milica Radisic
Despite tremendous progress in the development of mature heart-on-a-chip models, human cell-based models of myocardial inflammation are lacking. Here, we bioengineered a vascularized heart-on-a-chip with circulating immune cells to model severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-induced acute myocarditis. We observed hallmarks of coronavirus disease (COVID-19)-induced myocardial inflammation, as the presence of immune cells augmented the secretion of proinflammatory cytokines, triggered progressive impairment of contractile function, and altered intracellular calcium transients...
March 29, 2024: Science Advances