# A 3D IN VITRO DISEASE MODEL OF ATRIAL CONDUCTION

> **NIH NIH UH3** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS · 2021 · $1,065,481

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Nearly 1 in 10 adults over the age of 65 in the U.S. suffer from atrial fibrillation (AF) leading to approximately
$6 billion annually in healthcare costs. Because advanced age is a primary risk factor for developing AF, the
overall incidence is expected to rise steadily over the coming decades as our population ages. Current
therapeutic interventions have remarkably poor efficacy and/or untoward side effects due in large part to our
inability to target the root cause of the disease and provide specificity for the atria and the patient. The central
objective of this proposal is to create and validate a robust 3D microphysiological model of abnormal human
atrial conduction using induced pluripotent stem cells from the patient. The model will simulate important
elements of AF, such as conduction velocity, and develop novel therapeutic strategies that employ adenoviral
delivery of gene interference (CRISPRi) that target altered gene regulatory pathways as the source of AF. We
will accomplish this objective by completing the following specific aims: 1) characterize the transcriptome,
epigenome, and electrophysiology of adult human atrial cardiomyocytes (normal and AF); 2) create a 3D in
vitro disease model of human atrial conduction leveraging human iPS cell-derived atrial cardiomyocytes (iPS-
aCM) and atrial regulatory gene expression; 3) design and test an adenoviral gene delivery strategy to
specifically target atrial (not ventricular or nodal) cardiomyocytes; 4) demonstrate atrial specific adenoviral
delivery (SA3) of CRISPRi and gene interference of PITX2 in ex vivo human atrial tissue; and 5) create iPS-
aCM and the corresponding in vitro model of atrial conduction from a cohort of normal subjects and patients
with AF; characterize drug efficacy and gene delivery in the in vitro models using a panel of existing drugs and
our atrial specific adenoviral construct for CRISPR gene interference of PITX2 (SA3). Completing the specific
aims will provide a model of human atrial conduction that can be used as a broad platform to understand drug
efficacy and safety for diseases such as AF.!

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10228624
- **Project number:** 5UH3HL141800-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS
- **Principal Investigator:** David Terry Curiel
- **Activity code:** UH3 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $1,065,481
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-09-01 → 2023-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10228624

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10228624, A 3D IN VITRO DISEASE MODEL OF ATRIAL CONDUCTION (5UH3HL141800-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10228624. Licensed CC0.

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