Daily Rhythm Systems in Heart Cells Made from Human Embryonic Stem Cells

Human embryonic stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes exhibit spontaneous oscillatory expression of core clock genes during cardiac differentiation.

• Undifferentiated human embryonic stem cells lack an intrinsic functional circadian clock.
• During cardiac differentiation, core clock genes begin to show oscillatory expression.
• A network of stress-related genes is identified that is regulated by these oscillations.
• The oscillatory gene expression influences the cardiomyocytes' response to doxorubicin over time.
• These findings suggest that the presence of a functional circadian clock may affect experimental outcomes in cardiomyocyte research.

Simplified