Application of human cardiac organoids in cardiovascular disease research

Abstract

With the progression of cardiovascular disease (CVD) treatment technologies, conventional animal models face limitations in clinical translation due to interspecies variations. Recently, human cardiac organoids (hCOs) have emerged as an innovative platform for CVD research. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the definition, characteristics, classifications, application and development of hCOs. Furthermore, this review examines the application of hCOs in models of myocardial infarction, heart failure, arrhythmias, and congenital heart diseases, highlighting their significance in replicating disease mechanisms and pathophysiological processes. It also explores their potential utility in drug screening and the development of therapeutic strategies. Although challenges persist regarding technical complexity and the standardization of models, the integration of multi-omics and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies offers a promising avenue for the clinical translation of hCOs.

Keywords: cardiovascular disease; clinical translation; disease models; drug screening; human cardiac organoids.

FIGURE 1

Overview of methods for the preparation of cardiac organoids. This includes scaffold-free self-organization methods, where cells assemble themselves to form cardiac tissue (Filippo Buono et al., 2020); tissue engineering co-culture methods, which combine different cell types to simulate the cardiac microenvironment; and 3D printing methods, which utilize precise bioprinting techniques to construct complex cardiac structures. Each of these approaches has unique advantages and contributes to advancements in cardiac regenerative medicine and disease modeling.

FIGURE 2

Applications of cardiac organoids in various cardiovascular disease models and their roles in drug toxicity testing and drug screening. A) schematic of an experiment mimicking heart disease in organoids via the IR injury mechanism occurring in the human adult heart, followed by the study of fibrogenesis (Song et al., 2024). B) cardiac organoids in arrhythmia research (Shinnawi et al., 2019). C) modeling heart chamber development and disease (Hofbauer et al., 2021). D) Illustrates the role of hCOs in drug screening for cardiovascular diseases. E) their application in drug toxicity testing.