Antihypertensive drug treatment and susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection in human PSC-derived cardiomyocytes and primary endothelial cells.

The pathogenicity of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been attributed to its ability to enter through the membrane-bound angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor. Therefore, it has been heavily speculated that angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) therapy may modulate SARS-CoV-2 infection. In this study, exposure of human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hPSC-CMs) and human endothelial cells (hECs) to SARS-CoV-2 identified significant differences in protein coding genes involved in immunity, viral response, and cardiomyocyte/endothelial structure.

Tissue Engineering Techniques for Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Derived Three-Dimensional Cardiac Constructs.

Recent developments in applied developmental physiology have provided well-defined methodologies for producing human stem cell derived cardiomyocytes. The cardiomyocytes produced have become commonplace as cardiac physiology research models. Accessibility has also allowed for the development of tissue engineered human heart constructs for drug screening, surgical intervention, and investigating cardiac pathogenesis.