Vascularized Organoids Emerge from a Heart–Foregut-like Intermediate Recapitulating Early Human Development
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: During early cardiogenesis, the heart regions lie in close contact with foregut endoderm, which supplies essential nutrients and signaling cues to orchestrate primitive heart tube assembly. Here, we show that self-organized heart/foregut like-structures emerge from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs). The initial heart/foregut–like structures, termed the “Seed”, are encased by surrounding supportive cells termed “Soil”, which provide a matrix microenvironment; the “Seed” progressively develops into chambered human cardiac organoids (hCOs) containing cardiomyocytes (CMs), epicardial cells, cardiac fibroblasts, and endothelial cells. Optimization of the induction system further enhanced hCO maturation and vascularization. Therefore, this “Soil–Seed” system provides a model to dissect human early heart/foregut self-organization.
Institutions: Chinese University of Hong Kong, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Jinfeng Laboratory, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou Medical University, University of Cambridge, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funders: Shandong University, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Innovation and Technology Commission, Jinan University, Ministry of Education, India, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Government, Young Scientists Fund, Science and Technology Planning Project of Guangdong Province
OpenAlex ID: W7223175251