Produced by: Tarun Mishra Designed by: Muskan Arora
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles has introduced a groundbreaking "heart-on-a-chip" model with significant implications for medical research, particularly in enhancing the safety of cancer treatments.
According to a report by NDTV, the miniature, lab-grown heart may serve a critical role in evaluating the cardiac risks linked to cancer therapies, ensuring that treatments targeting cancer cells do not inadvertently harm the heart.
The heart-on-a-chip model could provide a controlled and ethical environment for testing cancer drugs, prioritizing patient well-being during the development and assessment of new therapies.
A notable advancement in the model involved the use of mature heart cells derived from human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs), resulting in a more accurate representation of human heart function.
The chip showcased an impressive beating rate of approximately 60 beats per minute, mimicking the natural rhythm of the human heart and enhancing its physiological relevance.
The study introduced a multi-lineage, fully integrated cardiovascular organ chip with hiPSC-CMs and hiPSC-ECs on separate channels, subjected to active fluid flow and rhythmic biomechanical stretch for improved functionality.
Researchers expressed optimism about the heart chip's potential to reduce reliance on traditional animal models for preclinical drug cardiotoxicity testing, signalling a shift toward more ethical and efficient research practices.
The heart-chip platform presented a promising avenue for screening potentially cardiotoxic chemotherapeutic agents on multiple cardiovascular cell types, paving the way for the development of new modalities in evaluating and preventing cancer therapy-induced cardiotoxicity.