Human heart development depends on tightly coordinated genetic programs and biomechanical cues, yet the underlying cell–microenvironment interactions remain poorly understood because the developing heart is difficult to study in utero and accurate experimental models are lacking. Recent advances in stem cell biology and three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting now allow the construction of human tissue analogues with defined structure and function. Here we show a perfusable 3D bioprinted model of the human embryonic heart tube composed of layered myocardium, cardiac jelly, and endocardium. Human induced pluripotent stem cell–derived cardiomyocytes and endothelial cells are cultured under controlled flow conditions, producing constructs with high cell viability, complete lumen endothelialization, progressive myocardial compaction, and coordinated tissue-level contraction. Single-cell transcriptomic analysis reveals that dynamic flow promotes cardiac maturation and lineage specification. This platform provides a human-relevant model to study early heart development, investigate congenital heart disease mechanisms, and evaluate emerging therapeutic strategies. Early human heart development is shaped by biomechanical cues that are difficult to study in vivo. Here, authors engineer a perfusable 3D-bioprinted model of the embryonic heart tube for in vitro modelling of early human heart development.
Jin et al. (Fri,) studied this question.