Name: slicing and culturing pig hearts under physiological conditions
Uploaded: 2020-03-20T14:00:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Slicing and Culturing Pig Hearts under Physiological Conditions at JoVE.com

TMAM is supported by NIH grant P30GM127607 and American Heart Association grant 16SDG29950012. RB is supported by P01HL78825 and UM1HL113530.

All animal procedures were in accordance with the institutional guidelines of the University of Louisville and approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.
1. Preparation for Slicing (One Day Before Slicing)
<ol>
	<li>Preparation of the vibrating microtome
	<ol>
		<li>Place the ceramic blade into its holder by following these steps: after carefully unwrapping the blade, place the sharp edge first into the slot of the blade tool. Then, fit the blade into the h...

<ol>
	<li>Onakpoya, I. J., Heneghan, C. J., Aronson, J. K. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Post-marketing+withdrawal+of+462+medicinal+products+because+of+adverse+drug+reactions:+a+systematic+review+of+the+world+literature.">Post-marketing withdrawal of 462 medicinal products because of adverse drug reactions: a systematic review of the world literature.</a> BMC Medicine. 14, 10 (2016).</li><li>Fermini, B., Fossa, A. A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=The+impact+of+drug-induced+QT+interval+prolongation+on+drug+discovery+and+development.">The impact of drug-induced QT interval prolongation on drug discovery and development.</a> Nature Reviews Drug Discovery. 2 (6), 439-447 (2003).</li><li>Moslehi, J. 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A., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Preparation+of+viable+adult+ventricular+myocardial+slices+from+large+and+small+mammals.">Preparation of viable adult ventricular myocardial slices from large and small mammals.</a> Nature Protocols. 12 (12), 2623-2639 (2017).</li><li>Kang, C., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Human+Organotypic+Cultured+Cardiac+Slices:+New+Platform+For+High+Throughput+Preclinical+Human+Trials.">Human Organotypic Cultured Cardiac Slices: New Platform For High Throughput Preclinical Human Trials.</a> Scientific Reports. 6, 28798 (2016).</li><li>Ou, Q., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Physiological+Biomimetic+Culture+System+for+Pig+and+Human+Heart+Slices.">Physiological Biomimetic Culture System for Pig and Human Heart Slices.</a> Circulation Research. 125 (6), 628-642 (2019).</li><li>Jones, S. P., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=The+NHLBI-sponsored+Consortium+for+preclinicAl+assESsment+of+cARdioprotective+therapies+(CAESAR):+a+new+paradigm+for+rigorous,+accurate,+and+reproducible+evaluation+of+putative+infarct-sparing+interventions+in+mice,+rabbits,+and+pigs.">The NHLBI-sponsored Consortium for preclinicAl assESsment of cARdioprotective therapies (CAESAR): a new paradigm for rigorous, accurate, and reproducible evaluation of putative infarct-sparing interventions in mice, rabbits, and pigs.</a> Circulation Research. 116 (4), 572-586 (2015).</li><li>Crick, S. J., Sheppard, M. N., Ho, S. Y., Gebstein, L., Anderson, R. H. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Anatomy+of+the+pig+heart:+comparisons+with+normal+human+cardiac+structure.">Anatomy of the pig heart: comparisons with normal human cardiac structure.</a> Journal of Anatomy. 193 (Pt 1), 105-119 (1998).</li><li>Fischer, C., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Long-term+functional+and+structural+preservation+of+precision-cut+human+myocardium+under+continuous+electromechanical+stimulation+in+vitro.">Long-term functional and structural preservation of precision-cut human myocardium under continuous electromechanical stimulation in vitro.</a> Nature Communications. 10 (1), 117 (2019).</li><li>Franke, J., Abs, V., Zizzadoro, C., Abraham, G. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Comparative+study+of+the+effects+of+fetal+bovine+serum+versus+horse+serum+on+growth+and+differentiation+of+primary+equine+bronchial+fibroblasts.">Comparative study of the effects of fetal bovine serum versus horse serum on growth and differentiation of primary equine bronchial fibroblasts.</a> BMC Veterinary Research. 10, 119 (2014).</li><li>Vuorenpaa, H., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Novel+in+vitro+cardiovascular+constructs+composed+of+vascular-like+networks+and+cardiomyocytes.">Novel in vitro cardiovascular constructs composed of vascular-like networks and cardiomyocytes.</a> In Vitro Cellular &amp; Developmental Biology - Animal. 50 (4), 275-286 (2014).</li><li>Qiao, Y., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Multiparametric+slice+culture+platform+for+the+investigation+of+human+cardiac+tissue+physiology.">Multiparametric slice culture platform for the investigation of human cardiac tissue physiology.</a> Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology. 144, 139-150 (2018).</li><li>Watson, S. A., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Biomimetic+electromechanical+stimulation+to+maintain+adult+myocardial+slices+in+vitro.">Biomimetic electromechanical stimulation to maintain adult myocardial slices in vitro.</a> Nature Communications. 10 (1), 2168 (2019).</li></ol>

Here we describe the detailed video protocol for our recently published method for simplified medium throughput (processes up to 48 slices/device) method that enables culture of pig heart slices for a period sufficiently long to test acute cardiotoxicity13. The proposed conditions mimic the environment of the heart, including frequency of electrical stimulation, nutrient availability, and intermittent oxygenation. We attribute the prolonged viability of heart slices in our biomimetic stimulated cu...

Drug induced cardiotoxicity is a major cause of market withdrawal1. In the last decade of the 20th century, eight non-cardiovascular drugs were withdrawn from the market as they resulted in sudden death due to ventricular arrhythmias2. In addition, several anti-cancer therapies (while in many cases effective) can lead to several cardiotoxic effects including cardiomyopathy and arrhythmias. For example, both traditional (e.g., anthracyclines and radiation) and targeted (e.g., trastuzumab) breast cancer therapies can result in cardiovascular complications in a subset of patients3. A close collaboration between cardiologists and oncologists (via the emerging field of &#34;cardio-oncology&#34;) has helped make these complications manageable ensuring that patients can be treated effectively2. Less clear are the cardiovascular effects of newer agents, including Her2 and PI3K inhibitors, especially when therapies are used in combination. Therefore, there is a growing need for reliable preclinical screening strategies for cardiovascular toxicities associated with emerging anti-cancer therapies prior to human clinical trials. The lack of availability of culture systems for human heart tissue that is functionally and structurally viable for more than 24 h is a limiting factor for reliable cardiotoxicity testing. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop a reliable system for culturing human heart tissue under physiologic conditions for testing drug toxicity.
The recent move towards the use of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) in cardiotoxicity testing has provided a partial solution to address this issue; however, the immature nature of the hiPSC-CMs and the loss of tissue integrity compared to multicellular nature of the heart tissue are major limitations of this technology4. A recent study has partially overcome this limitation through fabrication of cardiac tissues from hiPSC-CMs on hydrogels and subjecting them to gradual increase in electrical stimulation over time5. However, their electromechanical properties did not achieve the maturity seen in the adult human myocardium. Moreover, the heart tissue is structurally more complicated, being composed of various cell types including endothelial cells, neurons and various types of stromal fibroblasts linked together with a very specific mixture of extracellular matrix proteins6. This heterogeneity of the non-cardiomyocyte cell population7,8,9 in the adult mammalian heart is a major obstacle in modeling heart tissue using individual cell types. These major limitations highlight the importance of developing methods to enable culture of intact cardiac tissue for optimal studies involving physiological and pathological conditions of the heart5.
Culturing human heart slices is a promising model of intact human myocardium. This technology provides access to a complete 3D multicellular system that is similar to the human heart tissue which could reliably reflect the physiological or pathological conditions of the human myocardium. However, its use has been severely limited by the short period of viability in culture, which does not extend beyond 24 h using the most robust protocols reported until 201810,11,12. This limitation was due to multiple factors including the use of air-liquid interface to culture the slices, and the use of a simple culture medium that does not support the high energetic demands of the cardiac tissue. We have recently developed a submerged culture system which is able to provide continuous electrical stimulation and optimized the culture media components to keep cardiac tissue slices viable for up to 6 days13. This culture system has the potential to become a powerful predictive human in situ model for acute cardiotoxicity testing to close the gap between preclinical and clinical testing results. In the current article, we are detailing the protocol for slicing and culturing the heart slices using a pig heart as an example. The same process is applied to human, dog, sheep, or cat hearts. With this protocol, we are hoping to spread the technology to other laboratories in the scientific community.

<table border="1" fo:keep-together.within-page="1" fo:keep-with-next.within-page="always">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>1000ml, 0.22&#181;m, Vacuum Filter/Storage Systems</td>
			<td>VWR</td>
			<td>28199-812</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>2,3-Butanedione monoxime (BDM)</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>AC150375000</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>500ml, 0.22&#181;m, Vacuum Filter/Storage Systems</td>
			<td>VWR</td>
			<td>28199-788</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>6-well C-Dish Cover (electrical-stimulation-plate-cover)</td>
			<td>Ion Optix</td>
			<td>CLD6WFC</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>6-well plates</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>08-772-1B</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Agarose</td>
			<td>Bioline USA</td>
			<td>BIO-41025</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Antibiotic-Antimycotic</td>
			<td>Thermo</td>
			<td>15-240-062</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>C-Pace EM (cell-culture-electrical-stimulator)</td>
			<td>Ion Optix</td>
			<td>CEP100</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Calcium Chloride (CaCl2)</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>C79-500</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Ceramic Blades for Vibrating Microtome</td>
			<td>Campden Instruments</td>
			<td>7550-1-C</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cooley Chest Retractor</td>
			<td>Millennium Surgical</td>
			<td>63-G5623</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>D-Glucose</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>D16-1</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Disposable Scalpel #20</td>
			<td>Biologyproducts.com</td>
			<td>DS20X</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Falcon Cell Strainers, Sterile, Corning</td>
			<td>VWR</td>
			<td>21008-952</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Fetal Bovine Serum</td>
			<td>Thermo</td>
			<td>A3160502</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Graefe Forceps</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>NC9475675</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Heparin sodium salt</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>H3149-50KU</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>HEPES</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>BP310-1</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Histoacryl BLUE Tissue glue</td>
			<td>Amazon</td>
			<td></td>
			<td><a href="https://www.amazon.com/HISTOACRYL-FLEXIBLE-1051260P-Aesculap-Adhesive/dp/B074WB5185/" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.com/HISTOACRYL-FLEXIBLE-1051260P-Aesculap-Adhesive/dp/B074WB5185/</a></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Iris Spring scissors</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>NC9019530</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Iris Straight Scissors</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>731210</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Isoflurane, USP</td>
			<td>Piramal</td>
			<td>NDC 66794-017-25</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>ITS Liquid Media Supplement</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>I3146-5ML</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Ketamine HCl (500 mg/10 mL)</td>
			<td>West-Ward</td>
			<td>NDC 0143-9508</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Magnesium Chloride (MgCl2)</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>M33-500</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Mayo SuperCut Surgical Scissors</td>
			<td>AROSurgical Instruments Corporation</td>
			<td>AROSuperCut&#8482; 07.164.17</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Medium 199, Earle&#39;s Salts</td>
			<td>Thermo</td>
			<td>11-150-059</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Oxygen regulator</td>
			<td>Praxair</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Oxygen tanks -</td>
			<td>Praxair</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Plastic Pasteur pipettes</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>13-711-48</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Potassium Chloride (KCl)</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>AC193780010</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Printer Timing Belt</td>
			<td>Amazon</td>
			<td></td>
			<td><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Uxcell-a14081200ux0042-PRINTER-Precision-Timing/dp/B00R1J3KDC/" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.com/Uxcell-a14081200ux0042-PRINTER-Precision-Timing/dp/B00R1J3KDC/</a></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Razor rectangle blades</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>12-640</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Recombinant Human FGF basic</td>
			<td>R&#38;D Systems</td>
			<td>233-FB-025/CF</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Recombinant Human VEGF</td>
			<td>R&#38;D Systems</td>
			<td>293-VE-010/CF</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Retractable scalpels</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>22-079-716</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Sodium Bicarbonate (NaHCO3)</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>AC217125000</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Sodium Chloride (NaCl)</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>AC327300010</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Vibrating Microtome</td>
			<td>Campden Instruments</td>
			<td>7000 SMZ-2</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Xylazine HCl (100 mg/mL)</td>
			<td>Heartland Veterinary Supply</td>
			<td>NADA 139-236</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

slicing and culturing pig hearts under physiological conditions

Many novel drugs fail in clinical studies due to cardiotoxic side effects as the currently available in vitro assays and in vivo animal models poorly predict human cardiac liabilities, posing a multi-billion-dollar burden on the pharmaceutical industry. Hence, there is a worldwide unmet medical need for better approaches to identify drug cardiotoxicity before undertaking costly and time consuming &#39;first in man&#39; trials. Currently, only immature cardiac cells (human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes [hiPSC-CMs]) are used to test therapeutic efficiency and drug toxicity as they are the only human cardiac cells that can be cultured for prolonged periods required to test drug efficacy and toxicity. However, a single cell type cannot replicate the phenotype of the complex 3D heart tissue which is formed of multiple cell types. Importantly, the effect of drugs needs to be tested on adult cardiomyocytes, which have different characteristics and toxicity responses compared to immature hiPSC-CMs. Culturing human heart slices is a promising model of intact human myocardium. This technology provides access to a complete multicellular system that mimics the human heart tissue and reflects the physiological or pathological conditions of the human myocardium. Recently, through optimization of the culture media components and the culture conditions to include continuous electrical stimulation at 1.2 Hz and intermittent oxygenation of the culture medium, we developed a new culture system setup that preserves viability and functionality of human and pig heart slices for 6 days in culture. In the current protocol, we are detailing the method for slicing and culturing pig heart as an example. The same protocol is used to culture slices from human, dog, sheep, or cat hearts. This culture system has the potential to become a powerful predictive human in situ model for acute cardiotoxicity testing that closes the gap between preclinical and clinical testing results.

Using a commercially available cell culture electrical stimulator that can accommodate eight 6 well plates at once, we emulated the adult cardiac milieu by inducing electrical stimulation at the physiological frequency (1.2 Hz), and screened for the fundamental medium components to prolong the duration of functional pig heart slices in culture13. Since pig and human hearts are similar in size and anatomy15, we developed a biomimetic heart sl...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Slicing and Culturing Pig Hearts under Physiological Conditions at JoVE.com

Slicing and Culturing Pig Hearts under Physiological Conditions

This protocol describes how to slice and culture heart tissue under physiological conditions for 6 days. This culture system could be used as a platform for testing the efficacy of novel heart failure therapeutics as well as reliable testing of acute cardiotoxicity in a 3D heart model.

Many novel drugs fail in clinical studies due to cardiotoxic side effects as the currently available in vitro assays and in vivo animal models poorly ...

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