# Engineered Human Heart Slice for Testing Drug-Induced Arrhythmia

> **NIH NIH R01** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $86,293

## Abstract

The parent grant “Engineered Human Heart Slice for Testing Drug-Induced Arrhythmia” aims to
develop an engineered hear slice (EHS) model that will have the ability to test for drug-induced,
cardiac tachyarrhythmias. The cardiomyocytes in the EHS model are obtained from human
induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs). While hiPSC-CMs are a
promising cell source for cardiomyocytes, these cells are limited in their maturation state. hiPSC-
CMs are currently fetal-like in their development, and require stimulants to achieve an adult-like
phenotype. The parent grant focuses on the use of electromechanical, biological, and maturation
medias to attain such a phenotype in hiPSC-CMs. This leads to the goal of this supplemental
research, which is to apply an alternate stimulant to aid in the maturation of hiPSC-CMs. This
stimulant is the secretome from adipocytes (fat generating cells). The adipocytes will serve as a
source of fatty acids, which have proven to be influential in the metabolic maturation of
cardiomyocytes. The specific aim of this supplemental work is to investigate the beneficial (or
pathological) role of the secretome from adipocytes derived from human Adipose-Derived Stem
Cells (hASCs) as a maturation stimulant for hiPSC-CMs that are either untreated, sorted for CD36+
(a metabolic maturation marker), or derived from patients diagnosed with arrhythmogenic right
ventricular cardiomyopathy. The supplemental research will also examine whether the responses
of the hiPSC-CMs are enhanced in a more 3D environment consisting of decellularized cardiac
tissue.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10616266
- **Project number:** 3R01HL152249-03S3
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** KENNETH R BOHELER
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $86,293
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2020-04-01 → 2024-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10616266

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10616266, Engineered Human Heart Slice for Testing Drug-Induced Arrhythmia (3R01HL152249-03S3). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10616266. Licensed CC0.

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