Microstripe pattern substrate consisting of alternating planar and nanoprotrusive regions improved hiPSC-derived cardiomyocytes' unidirectional alignment and functional properties.

The alignment of each cell in human myocardium is considered critical for the efficient movement of cardiac tissue. We investigated 96-well microstripe-patterned plates to align human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived cardiomyocytes (CMs), which resemble fetal myocardium. The aligned CMs (ACMs) cultured on the microstripe-patterned plates exhibited pathology, motor function, gene expression, and drug response that more closely resembled those of adult cells than did unaligned CMs cultured on a flat plate (FCMs). We used these ACMs to evaluate drug side effects and efficacy, and to determine whether these were similar to adult-like responses. When CMs from patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCMs) were seeded and cultured on the microstripe-patterned plates or layered on top of the ACMs, both sets of HCMs showed increased heart rate and synchronized contractions, indicating improved cardiac function. It is suggested that the ACMs could be used for drug screening as cells representative of adult-like CMs and be transplanted in the form of a cell sheet for regenerative treatment of heart failure.

Five types of odd-even effect and crystal structure changes brought about by ω-phenylalkyl group in [Ni(dmit)2] complex salts.

A series of [Ni(dmit)2] (dmit: 1,3-dithiole-2-thione-4,5-dithiolate) salts of ω-phenylalkyl-trimethylammonium (CnPh: n is the alkylene chain length; n = 2-5) have been prepared and characterized by X-ray crystallographic structural analysis. All complex salts are found to be composed of an alternating stack of [Ni(dmit)2] anions and CnPh cations, whereas the crystal structures are different in each complex. Interestingly, this series exhibited five types of odd-even effects in the crystal structures: 1. [Ni(dmit)2] anion length, 2. CnPh cation length, 3. orientation of the alkylene group against the terminal phenyl group, 4. relative orientation of the terminal phenyl group against [Ni(dmit)2] anions, 5. structure of dimerized [Ni(dmit)2] anions. The last odd-even effect led to an unusual vertical dimer structure. The vertical dimer is a unique structure in [M(dmit)2] complex salts (M = transition metal) and has not been reported. The introduction of a terminal phenyl group is concluded to have increased the steric effect and led to a marked structural difference between odd and even-numbered complex salts, i.e. the odd-even effect.