Flexible nanoelectronics reveal arrhythmogenesis in transplanted human cardiomyocytes
- Junya Aoyama
- Ren Liu
- Xinhe Zhang
- Anthony Y. Zhu
- Pichayathida Luanpaisanon
- Nivedhitha Velayutham
- Jessica C. Garbern
- Fang Cao
- Irving Barrera
- Hannah Fandl
- Morgan Sokol
- Satvik Dasariraju
- Eun Seok Gil
- Elton Aleksi
- Toshi Amanuma
- Jeffrey J. Saucerman
- Fei Chen
- Jia Liu
- Richard T. Lee
2025-10-16
The transplantation of human induced pluripotent stem cell–derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) offers a potential treatment for heart failure, but arrhythmogenic automaticity can arise from these transplanted cells. In this study, we investigated the effects of RADA16, a clinically approved self-assembling peptide that forms nanofibers after injection, on the vascularization, myofibril structure, and electrophysiological adaptation of hiPSC-CMs transplanted into rat hearts. RADA16 accelerated the transition of hiPSC-CMs toward adultlike gene expression profiles, enhanced sarcomere organization, and improved vascularization in the transplanted site. Flexible mesh nanoelectronics revealed fibrillation of transplanted hiPSC-CMs within the beating recipient heart, and RADA16 drastically reduced the automaticity of hiPSC-CMs. Our findings demonstrate the potential of self-assembling nanofibers to advance cardiac cell therapy and how flexible mesh nanoelectronics technology could improve safety.