# Development and validation of a novel bioprinted, human-diabetic cardiac organoid model

> **NIH NIH SC1** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS EL PASO · 2020 · $297,920

## Abstract

Cardiomyopathy is a debilitating complication of type-2 diabetes that predisposes patients
towards increased risk of heart failure due to the disorder of the heart muscle that compromises
its ability to circulate blood through the body and maintain a normal electrical rhythm, effectively.
Despite its immense clinical impact, there is a lack of targeted treatment regimen for diabetic
cardiomyopathy due to the intricate pathophysiology of the condition that makes drug screening
problematic. Current therapeutic strategies developed on results originating from animal
experiments, do not transform well to humans in vivo. Hence, studies should be based on
laboratory engineered ‘cardiac tissue’ models biofabricated from human induced pluripotent stem
cell (iPSC) differentiated cardiomyocytes that are essential to preserve in vivo physiology, and
mimic disease progression. But, there is lack of such preclinical human tissue based models to
establish a screening platform for the identification of potential therapeutics that will preserve
cardiac cell physiology and function when exposed to diabetic stress. To address this need, we
will develop a unique ‘cardiac organoid’ system that will be assembled using bioprinting of human
cardiac cells, including cardiomyocytes (CM), fibroblasts (CF) and endothelial cells (EC),
specifically sourced from diabetic donors. Bioprinting will enable the creation of an environment
to nurture the development of physiologically relevant cues, resulting in a functional tissue
construct with appropriate consistency. Cells derived from diabetic donors will retain their disease
phenotype or `metabolic memory', which will be valuable to observe and study their structural and
functional changes when exposed to hyperglycemic environments. Human iPSC sourced from
type-2 diabetic donors will be custom differentiated into CM and mixed with CF and EC for
bioprinting of ‘cardiac organoids’ that will be exposed to normal and hyperglycemic conditions to
delineate between the effects caused by metabolic memory, hyperglycemia and a combination of
both. Results will help in understanding the role of the signaling pathways involved in disease
progression, which may guide and inform us towards designing an enhanced therapeutic
approach for rescuing cardiac tissues from hyperglycemic insult. The successful completion of
these studies will lead to establishment of a patient-specific iPSC model of human type-2-
diabetes, and reveal the power of this approach for discovery of new therapeutic strategies for a
complex metabolic condition with rising clinical significance.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9855881
- **Project number:** 1SC1HL154511-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS EL PASO
- **Principal Investigator:** Binata Joddar
- **Activity code:** SC1 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $297,920
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-09-15 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9855881

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9855881, Development and validation of a novel bioprinted, human-diabetic cardiac organoid model (1SC1HL154511-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9855881. Licensed CC0.

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