Human heart nerve-and-muscle lab model
Microphysiological Model of Human Cardiac Sympathetic Innervation
['FUNDING_R01'] · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · NIH-11126589
This project creates a 3D lab model of human heart muscle and sympathetic nerves using cells from people with arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy to learn how nerve signals affect heart disease.
Quick facts
| Phase | ['FUNDING_R01'] |
|---|---|
| Study type | Nih_funding |
| Sex | All |
| Sponsor | JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY (nih funded) |
| Locations | 1 site (BALTIMORE, UNITED STATES) |
| Trial ID | NIH-11126589 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
What this research studies
The team is building a compartmentalized 3D platform that combines human cardiac cells and sympathetic neurons with microelectrode arrays to record electrical signals. They will generate heart cells and neurons from patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs), including samples from people with arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM). By studying these human cell co-cultures, researchers aim to reproduce ACM-related heart and nerve interactions and measure how neuronal input changes heart rhythm and function. The platform is meant to provide a human-based testbed to study neuromodulation and to help screen future therapies without relying only on animal models.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: People diagnosed with arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy who are willing to provide tissue or blood samples for generation of iPSCs would be ideal contributors to this work.
Not a fit: Patients without ACM or those needing immediate clinical treatment are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this lab-focused project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could clarify how nerve activity contributes to arrhythmias in ACM and enable testing of new treatments in patient-derived human tissue.
How similar studies have performed: Related heart-on-chip and hiPSC-based cardiac models have yielded useful insights, but modeling human sympathetic innervation in a 3D microphysiological platform is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
BALTIMORE, UNITED STATES
- JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY — BALTIMORE, UNITED STATES (ACTIVE)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: KIM, DEOK-HO — JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- Study coordinator: KIM, DEOK-HO
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.
Conditions: Cardiac Diseases