Enhanced myocyte-based biosensing of the blood-borne signals regulating chronotropy

Abstract

Biosensors play a critical role in the real-time determination of relevant functional physiological needs. However, typical in vivo biosensors only approximate endogenous function via the measurement of surrogate signals and, therefore, may often lack a high degree of dynamic fidelity with physiological requirements. To overcome this limitation, we have developed an excitable tissue-based implantable biosensor approach, which exploits the inherent electropotential input-output relationship of cardiac myocytes to measure the physiological regulatory inputs of chronotropic demand via the detection of blood-borne signals. In this study, we report the improvement of this application through the modulation of host-biosensor communication via the enhancement of vascularization of chronotropic complexes in mice. Moreover, in an effort to further improve translational applicability as well as molecular plasticity, we have advanced this approach by employing stem cell-derived cardiac myocyte aggregates in place of whole cardiac tissue. Overall, these studies demonstrate the potential of biologically based biosensors to predict endogenous physiological dynamics and may facilitate the translation of this approach for in vivo monitoring.