2026-03-24 カリフォルニア大学アーバイン校（UCI）
＜関連情報＞
- https://news.uci.edu/2026/03/24/uc-irvine-researchers-engineer-a-light-powered-biohybrid-cardiac-interface/
- https://www.cell.com/cell-biomaterials/fulltext/S3050-5623(26)00072-3
光電子バイオハイブリッドプラットフォームにより、光制御による心臓の構造的および機能的フィードバックが可能になる Optoelectronic biohybrid platform enables light-controlled cardiac structural and functional feedback
Yuyao Kuang ∙ Ze-Fan Yao ∙ Catherine Salgado ∙ … ∙ James W. Smyth ∙ Dmitry A. Fishman ∙ Herdeline Ann M. Ardoña
Cell Biomaterials Published:March 24, 2026
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celbio.2026.100416
Graphical abstract
The bigger picture
The ability to deterministically manipulate cellular machinery with light has opened up possibilities for controlling biological behavior with high spatiotemporal resolution. While this has been made possible by optogenetics, its reliance on gene modification imposes species-specific limitations on the translation of these technologies. This calls for further exploration of light-matter interactions at synthetic material biointerfaces, particularly those that enable transduction of optical stimuli into stimulatory cues such as local current generation. These advancements on the materials side, however, focus on the instantaneous pacing or recording via engineered materials that are inert enough for in vitro or in vivo settings. Yet, these transient interactions are not always unidirectional. A more thorough understanding of the dynamic biotic-abiotic interactions for these engineered systems with photoinitiated immediate and longer-term influence on biological structure and function is needed to fully realize the potential of such platforms. In our report, we present an in vitro light-based cardiac manipulation platform with layers of organic, conjugated polymeric systems that allow for optical and mechanical control over cardiac structure and function. The mechanical compliance of the interface with a cantilever geometry, as used in cardiac microphysiological systems/“on-chip” models, enables the investigation of the impact of the photoinitiated processes facilitated by these polymeric interfaces on cardiac tissue properties across length scales—from the structural features of myocytes to bulk contractility of the engineered in vitro model. The polymeric biohybrid interface presented here uniquely facilitates the stimulatory effects of light-triggered processes to control the electromechanical functions of cardiac tissues, as well as their longer-term effects on cellular/tissue structural phenotypes, without altering their native genetic makeup.
Highlights
- Gene modification-free pacing of cardiac tissue contractions using pulsed visible light
- Probing long-term effects of local photocurrent generation on cardiac structure
- Delineating the structural impacts of electrical vs. optoelectronic vs. optoelectromechanical cardiac stimulation
Summary
Cardiac tissues naturally respond to an autoregulatory loop of electrical and mechanical cues, which often influence signal transduction pathways in synergism rather than in isolation. Here, we present a mechanically compliant biointerface fabricated with cardiomyocytes aligned atop a photocurrent-generating elastomeric substrate. Cardiac tissue contractions were optically paced within a normal human heartbeat frequency range without requiring gene modification. Using this biohybrid system as an in vitro model, we investigate how pulsed light input potentiates mechanical tissue response via contractility and, in turn, how contraction-induced tissue strain affects the structure and expression of cellular features responsible for intercellular communication. More specifically, we quantified the effects of this photostimulation approach, with and without the additional influence of actuation, on cytoskeletal/sarcomeric orientation and gap junction expression. In summary, this biohybrid platform based on an optoelectronic polymer interface enables light-controlled electromechanical feedback useful for in vitro mechanistic investigations of the cardiac structure-function continuum.
