A novel in vitro model using chick embryo heart explants on elastic glass fibers enables long-term quantitative analysis of cardiomyocyte contraction frequency and drug screening.
No immediate clinical implications; leaves open validation of chick explant model for cardiomyocyte drug screening.
Heart cells continue to contract rhythmically after isolation and in culture in vitro. We describe a model of heart preparation in vitro that permits quantitative research on the frequency of contractions of cardiomyocytes. The chick embryo heart explants placed on a network of elastic glass fibers continued beating for months, recorded and analyzed with the methods of computer-assisted image analysis. The efficacy of this experimental model for the screening of effects of various agents on the frequency of contractions was examined by following the effects of nifedipine, caffeine, ethanol, and benzamide. The reversibility of the effects and the reproducibility of results were demonstrated quantitatively. The significance of a mechanical elastic load provided by glass fibers for the preservation of long-lasting contractile activity of cardiomyocytes is discussed and the common occurrence of oscillatory contraction processes in various eucaryotic cells is noted.
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Korohoda et al. (1995) studied this question.
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