Researchers from Harvard University (USA), together with colleagues from Emory University (USA), have developed a fully autonomous biohybrid fish from human heart cells. An artificial fish is able to swim, recreating the contraction of the heart muscle. Scientists hope that the study will help advance the development of an artificial heart.
The work of the researchers was based on previous developments. So in 2012, scientists created a jellyfish from rat heart cells, and in 2016 they presented an artificial floating ramp, also made from rat heart cells. In a third experiment, the researchers took inspiration from the zebrafish anatomy and replicated both body structure and movement patterns.
The researchers used cardiomyocytes derived from human stem cells as a building material. The cells were placed inside a small piece of gelatin that held them on both sides of the "body" of the fish. The frame of the biohybrid was made of a flexible material, which allowed the muscles to alternately contract and pull the tail from side, moving forward. Small finstalled on the back and sides, holding the fish in the correct position.
In addition to the main design, scientists have developed an autonomous pacing unit that controls the frequency and rhythm of muscle contractions. A bundle of two layers of muscles on the sides and a stimulation node allows you to generate continuous, coordinated movements of the caudal fin. But in the end it turned out that the system can exist without a separate stimulator - each contraction occurs automatically in response to the stretching of the opposite side.
During the experiments, the fish were placed in a sugar solution, and the experiments showed that the structure turned out to be quite strong and functioned for three months. The biohybrid also managed to develop a speed of more than one body length per second, which exceeds the rate for a real zebrafish.
The researchers said that they are not going to stop and plan to develop an even more complex biohybrid and get closer to the possibility of creating an artificial heart.
bbabo.Net