There is a growing trend for utilisation of native human cells in drug discovery to overcome common translational disconnects between in vitro screening data, preclinical animal models, and clinical trials in man. Translational assays using cardiomyocytes derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) are increasingly appreciated as an accessible cell source for cardiac disease modelling, drug screening, and safety pharmacology.
Optical voltage imaging of human iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes was used to assess electrophysiological effects of compounds beyond hERG inhibition. Action potential waveform analysis revealed compound-specific and concentration-dependent changes, enabling mechanistic differentiation of multichannel activity and demonstrating a human-relevant approach for translational cardiac safety assessment.
The presence of sensory neuron markers, excitability properties consistent with sensory neurons, and evidence of nociceptor ion channels (using both RNASeq and electrophysiology) provides strong evidence that iCell Sensory Neurons have a robust sensory neuron phenotype suitable for supporting pain discovery programs.