Milena Bellin, University of Padova, Italy

Le 21 March 2024

Amphi DE

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14h00

Cardiac organoids from human pluripotent stem cells to study inherited heart disease

Cardiac organoids from human pluripotent stem cells to study inherited heart disease

Milena Bellin, PhD, Full Professor of Genetics

Department of Biology, University of Padova - Italy

Abstract

Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) from patients are a precious tool to study human cardiac disease. We recently developed three-dimensional multi-cellular cardiac organoids combining hiPSC-derived cardiomyocytes, cardiac fibroblasts, and cardiac endothelial cells. We demonstrate that, under these culture conditions, hiPSC-cardiomyocytes mature to post-natal levels at structural, functional, electrical, and metabolic level. Using patient-derived hiPSCs, we show that cardiac fibroblasts can be active contributors to arrhythmia and that mature hiPSC-cardiomyocytes express post-natal isoforms of cardiac ion channels, revealing mutation effects in heart disease. We will discuss directions and challenges in the field.

Biography

Milena Bellin is Full Professor of Genetics and Group Leader at the Dept. of Biology and Veneto Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Padua (Italy), and Principal Investigator at the Dept. of Anatomy and Embryology, Leiden University Medical Center (The Netherlands). She pioneered the use of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) to study inherited cardiac diseases. Her research ranges from developing three-dimensional multicellular cardiac organoids to the development of hiPSC-based platforms for drug-screening and safety pharmacology. During her career, she has been awarded a Marie Curie fellowship (2012), FEBS Anniversary Prize for outstanding achievements in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (2016), and an ERC Consolidator Grant (2020). She is part of the Institute for human Organ and Disease Model technologies.

Mis à jour le 01 February 2024.