Functional analysis and pharmacological testing of iPSc-derived cardiomyocyte as model for cardiac arrhythmia

We succeeded in inducing cardiomyocyte from iPS cells using only two chemicals, CHIR99021 and IWP-4. Beating was detected within ten days, similar to the conventional method using Activin A and BMP4 proteins. RT-PCR and immunostaining revealed that the induced cardiomyocyte expressed cardiomyocyte-specific genes or proteins. The alterations of beat rate and field potential duration in response to the adrenergic agonist were comparable between the cardiomyocyte derived from a patient carrying a mutation in KCNQ1 gene and healthy control. Using iPS cell-derived cardiomyocyte, various pharmacological testing will become available in the future.