The ability to implant electronic systems in the human body has led to many medical advances. Progress in semiconductor technology paved the way for devices at the scale of a millimeter or less ("microimplants"), but the miniaturization of the power source remains challenging. Although wireless powering has been demonstrated, energy transfer beyond superficial depths in tissue has so far been limited by large coils (at least a centimeter in diameter) unsuitable for a microimplant. Here, we show that this limitation can be overcome by a method, termed midfield powering, to create a high-energy density region deep in tissue inside of which the power-harvesting structure can be made extremely small. Unlike conventional near-field (inductively coupled) coils, for which coupling is limited by exponential field decay, a patterned metal plate is used to induce spatially confined and adaptive energy transport through propagating modes in tissue. We use this method to power a microimplant (2 mm, 70 mg) capable of closed-chest wireless control of the heart that is orders of magnitude smaller than conventional pacemakers. With exposure levels below human safety thresholds, milliwatt levels of power can be transferred to a deep-tissue (>5 cm) microimplant for both complex electronic function and physiological stimulation. The approach developed here should enable new generations of implantable systems that can be integrated into the body at minimal cost and risk.biomedical electronics | microstimulator P rogress in semiconductor technology has led to electronic devices that can augment or replace physiological functions; their ability to be implanted for direct interaction with organ systems relies on overall miniaturization of the device for simplified delivery (e.g., via catheter or hypodermic needle) and access to interstitial spaces. Advances over the past few decades enable most components in a biomedical device, including electrodes, oscillators, memory, and wireless communication systems, to be integrated on tiny silicon chips. However, the energy required for electronic function remains substantial and the consumption density has not been matched by existing powering technologies (1). As a result, the vast bulk of most implantable electronic devices consists of energy storage or harvesting components.Although considerable progress has been made in energy storage technologies, batteries remain a major obstacle to miniaturization (2, 3) because their lifetimes are limited and highly constrained by the available volume, requiring periodic surgical replacement once the unit is depleted. Energy-harvesting strategies have been developed to eliminate batteries or to extend their function. Previous demonstrations include thermoelectric (4), piezoelectric (5-7), biopotential (8), or glucose (9, 10) power extraction. However, these methods are anatomically specific and, in their existing forms, yield power densities too low (<0.1 μW/mm 2 ) for a microimplant. Alternatively, energy can be transferred from an external source. I...

Background Drug-induced arrhythmia is the most common cause of drug development failure and withdrawal from market. This study tested whether human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) combined with a low-impedance microelectrode array (MEA) system could improve upon industry-standard, preclinical cardiotoxicity screening methods, identify the effects of well-characterized drugs, and elucidate underlying risk factors for drug-induced arrhythmia. Human iPSC-CMs may be advantageous over immortalized cell lines because they possess similar functional characteristics as primary human cardiomyocytes and can be generated in unlimited quantities. Methods and Results Pharmacological responses of beating embryoid bodies (EBs) exposed to a comprehensive panel of drugs at 65 to 95 days post-induction were determined. Responses of hiPSC-CMs to drugs were qualitatively and quantitatively consistent with the reported drug effects in literature. Torsadogenic hERG blockers such as sotalol and quinidine produced statistically and physiologically significant effects, consistent with patch-clamp studies on human embryonic stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hESC-CMs). False negative and false positive hERG blockers were identified accurately. Consistent with published studies using animal models, early afterdepolarizations (EADs) and ectopic beats were observed in 33% and 40% of embryoid bodies treated with sotalol and quinidine, respectively, compared to negligible EADs and ectopic beats in untreated controls. Conclusions We found that drug-induced arrhythmias can be recapitulated in hiPSC-CMs and documented with MEA. Our data indicate that the MEA/hiPSC-CM assay is a sensitive, robust, and efficient platform for testing drug effectiveness and for arrhythmia screening. We believe that this system holds great potential for reducing drug development costs and may provide significant advantages over current industry standard assays that use immortalized cell lines or animal models.

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified chromosomal loci that affect risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) independent of classical risk factors. One such association signal has been identified at 6q23.2 in both Caucasians and East Asians. The lead CHD-associated polymorphism in this region, rs12190287, resides in the 3′ untranslated region (3′-UTR) of TCF21, a basic-helix-loop-helix transcription factor, and is predicted to alter the seed binding sequence for miR-224. Allelic imbalance studies in circulating leukocytes and human coronary artery smooth muscle cells (HCASMC) showed significant imbalance of the TCF21 transcript that correlated with genotype at rs12190287, consistent with this variant contributing to allele-specific expression differences. 3′ UTR reporter gene transfection studies in HCASMC showed that the disease-associated C allele has reduced expression compared to the protective G allele. Kinetic analyses in vitro revealed faster RNA-RNA complex formation and greater binding of miR-224 with the TCF21 C allelic transcript. In addition, in vitro probing with Pb2+ and RNase T1 revealed structural differences between the TCF21 variants in proximity of the rs12190287 variant, which are predicted to provide greater access to the C allele for miR-224 binding. miR-224 and TCF21 expression levels were anti-correlated in HCASMC, and miR-224 modulates the transcriptional response of TCF21 to transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) and platelet derived growth factor (PDGF) signaling in an allele-specific manner. Lastly, miR-224 and TCF21 were localized in human coronary artery lesions and anti-correlated during atherosclerosis. Together, these data suggest that miR-224 interaction with the TCF21 transcript contributes to allelic imbalance of this gene, thus partly explaining the genetic risk for coronary heart disease associated at 6q23.2. These studies implicating rs12190287 in the miRNA-dependent regulation of TCF21, in conjunction with previous studies showing that this variant modulates transcriptional regulation through activator protein 1 (AP-1), suggests a unique bimodal level of complexity previously unreported for disease-associated variants.

BackgroundAcute myocardial infarction (MI) leads to an irreversible loss of proper cardiac function. Application of stem cell therapy is an attractive option for MI treatment. Adipose tissue has proven to serve as a rich source of stem cells (ADSCs). Taking into account the different morphogenesis, anatomy, and physiology of adipose tissue, we hypothesized that ADSCs from different adipose tissue depots may exert a diverse multipotency and cardiogenic potential.MethodsThe omental, pericardial, and epicardial adipose tissue samples were obtained from organ donors and patients undergoing heart transplantation at our institution. Human foreskin fibroblasts were used as the control group. Isolated ADSCs were analyzed for adipogenic and osteogenic differentiation capacity and proliferation potential. The immunophenotype and constitutive gene expression of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), GATA4, Nanog, and OCT4 were analyzed. DNA methylation inhibitor 5-azacytidine was exposed to the cells to stimulate the cardiogenesis. Finally, reprogramming towards cardiomyocytes was initiated with exogenous overexpression of seven transcription factors (ESRRG, GATA4, MEF2C, MESP1, MYOCD, TBX5, ZFPM2) previously applied successfully for fibroblast transdifferentiation toward cardiomyocytes. Expression of cardiac troponin T (cTNT) and alpha-actinin (Actn2) was analyzed 3 weeks after initiation of the cardiac differentiation.ResultsThe multipotent properties of isolated plastic adherent cells were confirmed with expression of CD29, CD44, CD90, and CD105, as well as successful differentiation toward adipocytes and osteocytes; with the highest osteogenic and adipogenic potential for the epicardial and omental ADSCs, respectively. Epicardial ADSCs demonstrated a lower doubling time as compared with the pericardium and omentum-derived cells. Furthermore, epicardial ADSCs revealed higher constitutive expression of ALP and GATA4. Increased Actn2 and cTNT expression was observed after the transduction of seven reprogramming factors, with the highest expression in the epicardial ADSCs, as compared with the other ADSC subtypes and fibroblasts.ConclusionsHuman epicardial ADSCs revealed a higher cardiomyogenic potential as compared with the pericardial and omental ADSC subtypes as well as the fibroblast counterparts. Epicardial ADSCs may thus serve as the valuable subject for further studies on more effective methods of adult stem cell differentiation toward cardiomyocytes.