Engineering Alignment Has Mixed Effects on Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Differentiated Cardiomyocyte Maturation.

The potential of human induced pluripotent stem cell differentiated cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) is greatly limited by their functional immaturity. Strong relationships exist between cardiomyocyte (CM) structure and function, leading many in the field to seek ways to mature hiPSC-CMs by culturing on biomimetic substrates, specifically those that promote alignment. However, these models have so far failed to replicate the alignment that occurs during cardiac differentiation.