(Press-News.org)
Heart disease remains the leading cause of death worldwide, yet progress in understanding and treating cardiac disorders is limited by the shortcomings of existing experimental models. Traditional animal models often fail to capture human-specific cardiac biology, while conventional two-dimensional cell cultures lack the functional and structural complexity of heart tissue. These challenges have fueled growing interest in regenerative medicine approaches that more accurately model human heart development, disease mechanisms, and therapeutic responses, with stem cell–derived cardiac organoids emerging as a promising platform.
These three-dimensional, self-organizing tissues recapitulate key aspects of early cardiac development and enable studies of congenital heart defects, drug-induced cardiotoxicity, and personalized therapies. Despite their promise, most cardiac organoids remain developmentally immature and poorly vascularized, limiting their translational relevance. This limitation arises from the fact that the mechanical forces essential for cardiac development in vivo are not sufficiently reproduced in organoid systems.
To address this gap, a team of researchers led by Professor
Yongdoo Park from the Department of Biomedical Sciences, Korea University, Republic of Korea, investigated whether applying magnetic torque stimulation (MTS) to three-dimensional cardiac organoids can help mimic the mechanical forces experienced during early heart development. The study was made available online on 23 October 2025, and published in Volume 208 of the journal Acta Biomaterialia on December 2025.
The researchers employed an experimental in vitro approach to examine how mechanical stimulation affects cardiac organoid development. Human embryonic stem cells were differentiated into three-dimensional cardiac organoids, which were incorporated with surface-bound magnetic particles. A custom magnetic torque was applied during a defined early developmental window to mimic physiological cardiac mechanics. Organoid maturation and vascularization were evaluated using molecular, structural, and functional analyses, including gene and protein expression profiling, immunofluorescence imaging, beating and calcium transient measurements, and transcriptomic analysis, enabling systematic assessment of mechanotransduction-driven cardiac development.
The findings revealed that mechanical torque significantly enhanced cardiac organoid maturation. “Torque-stimulated activated mechanotransduction pathways, with accompanying improvements in cardiac differentiation, maturation, and vascularization,” says Prof. Park.
Mechanically matured cardiac organoids represent a promising platform for improving drug safety testing by providing more accurate, human-relevant models for cardiotoxicity screening and reducing reliance on animal studies. As these organoids incorporate vascular features, they may serve as dependable and reproducible laboratory models across different studies. Over the longer term, torque-stimulated cardiac organoids could support patient-specific disease modeling and personalized treatment strategies, while also offering a powerful system for elucidating how mechanical, molecular, and cellular cues interact to shape early human cardiac development. As cardiac organoids mature and incorporate vascular complexity, they offer increasingly reliable human-based models that can be consistently applied across laboratories.
“Our study opens new avenues for studying cardiac development, disease mechanisms, and therapeutic responses in systems that more closely reflect human physiology. In addition, the platform provides a reliable and reproducible model that can also be extended to other organoid systems in which mechanical cues play a key regulatory role. By reducing dependence on animal models, such platforms can accelerate drug discovery and testing, contributing to safer and more personalized treatment decisions,” concludes Prof. Park.
***
Reference
DOI: 10.1016/j.actbio.2025.10.040
About Korea University College of Medicine
Korea University College of Medicine is the medical school of Korea University. It is located in Seoul, South Korea. As one of the oldest medical schools in South Korea, it has been historically regarded as one of the country's top medical schools. The school was founded as Chosun Women's Medical Training Institute in 1928 by Rosetta Sherwood Hall. The institute was subsequently renamed several times and ultimately merged with Korea University to become Korea University College of Medicine. So far, the school has produced over 7,000 graduates, most of whom are working as prominent physicians and public health advocates worldwide.
Website: https://medicine.korea.ac.kr/en/index.do
About the author
Dr. Yongdoo Park is a Professor of Biomedical Sciences at Korea University. His research focuses on biomaterials, organoid-based tissue engineering, and the control of cell behavior through mechanical and microenvironmental cues. His group develops multiscale self-assembly technologies to create organoids and tissue modules for applications such as cartilage repair, and designs hydrogels and scaffolds for regenerative medicine. The lab also studies mechanobiology using platforms such as magnetic torque stimulation to guide cardiac tissue maturation and analyzes disease-related cell dynamics. Prof. Park leads interdisciplinary research integrating materials science and regenerative engineering.
END
Using muon spin rotation spectroscopy, researchers from Japan and Canada successfully captured the rapid conversion of an imidoyl radical into a quinoxalinyl radical occurring within nanoseconds. The technique enabled real time detection of a highly reactive aromatic heterocyclic radical generated during the isocyanide insertion reaction, using muonium as a molecular tracker. The discovery is expected to advance particle-driven radical chemistry—exploring functional properties and offering new strategies for ...
Environmentally friendly buildings are highly attractive for sustainable development and efficient energy consumption. Recently, scientists have made significant strides towards the development of energy-efficient smart windows—with features such as optical modulation, high transparency, low thermal conductivity, and ultraviolet (UV) blocking and heat shielding capabilities—to replace traditional glass windows. The smart windows are a lucrative technology to protect household items as well as human health from the adverse effects of UV radiation.
In a recent breakthrough, a team of researchers from the Republic of Korea, led by Professor ...
AMOLF researchers discovered a mysterious interplay of insulin signals in the worm C. elegans. The insulin-driven protein DAF-16 does not only move in and out of the cell nucleus in a complex rhythm, it does so at exactly the same moment in all cells of the body. Because of the many similarities between C. elegans and humans, the research may contribute to a better understanding of diseases such as diabetes, cancer and of ageing. The researchers published their findings in the journal Nature Communications on December 11.
Cells experience many different types of stress, such as starvation or ...
University of Leeds news
Embargoed: 13 January 2026 10:00 GMT
Images available here
Tropical forests can recover twice as quickly after deforestation if they have adequate soil nitrogen, according to new research published today.
A team of scientists led by the University of Leeds established the world’s largest and longest experiment to see how nutrients affect forest regrowth in areas cleared for activities such as logging and ...
Young tropical forests play a crucial role in slowing climate change. Growing trees absorb carbon dioxide from the air, using photosynthesis to build it into their roots, trunks, and branches, where they can store carbon for decades or even centuries. But, according to a new study, this CO2 absorption may be slowed down by the lack of a crucial element that trees need to grow: nitrogen.
Published in Nature Communications and coauthored by Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies ecologist Sarah Batterman, the study estimates that ...
“What should I eat?” is perhaps the most common question patients with inflammatory bowel disease ask their doctors.
It’s notoriously difficult to answer. There have been few large studies of dietary interventions for IBD, a group of disorders that includes ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.
Now, new research by Stanford Medicine investigators and their colleagues provides one potential answer. Their national, randomized controlled clinical trial found that a short-term, calorie-restrictive diet significantly improved both physical symptoms and biological indicators of mild-to-moderate Crohn’s ...
The number of vehicles in Africa is expected to double between now and 2050 – faster than on any other continent. The question is not whether mobility will increase, but how. A new study led by researchers at ETH Zurich and the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI, in collaboration with African partners from Makerere University, University of Port Harcourt and Stellenbosch University, shows that electric vehicles, combined with solar-powered off-grid charging systems, could be economically competitive in many African countries well before 2040.
“Many models have assumed that combustion engine vehicles will continue to dominate in Africa through ...
A test that rapidly detects signs of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in stool samples could improve future diagnosis and monitoring of the condition, a study suggests.
Scientists have developed a tool to measure the activity of a molecule linked to gut inflammation within faecal samples.
The optical tool, known as a luminescent reporter, lights up when it detects the molecule, with higher readouts indicating increased activity and inflammation.
The new technique could boost the accuracy of stool sample tests for IBD, reducing the need ...
Widely-used eye ointments can cause glaucoma implants to swell and potentially rupture, according to new research from Nagoya University in Japan. This study is the first to show, using clinical and experimental evidence, that petrolatum-based eye ointments can compromise the PRESERFLO® MicroShunt, an implant used in over 60 countries to treat glaucoma.
Glaucoma is an eye disease that damages the optic nerve and can lead to vision loss. It often results from increased intraocular pressure caused by blocked drainage of eye fluid. A recent study estimated that 76 million ...
Amsterdam, 13 January 2026. Today, the ACCESS-AD consortium is announcing the launch of a transformative European initiative that will accelerate the implementation of scientific innovations for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) management in real-world health systems. The international consortium - bringing together academic institutions, industry partners, SMEs and patient organisations - is co-led by Amsterdam UMC, Siemens Healthineers, King’s College London and Gates Ventures, with funding from the European Commission’s Innovative Health Initiative for a five-year period.
The project begins at a pivotal moment for AD care in Europe. In 2025, two new disease-modifying therapies ...
