SUITA, Osaka — A miniature artificial heart made of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, expected to be one of the main exhibits at the 2025 World Exposition in Osaka, was unveiled to the media here on Sept. 30.
Researchers led by Yoshiki Sawa, a specially appointed professor of cardiovascular surgery at Osaka University, plan to exhibit a beating “iPS heart” at temp staffing agency Pasona Group Inc.’s pavilion during the expo.
The unveiled heart measures approximately 3 centimeters in diameter and is made of some 200-300 million iPS cells. The scientists plan to make even larger ones for the exhibition. Although it beats on its own like a throbbing pulse, it does not have the function of a heart that circulates blood. Sawa explained, “We still need to make breakthroughs for it to actually function.”
Cuorips Inc., a startup Sawa serves as chief technology officer, is developing iPS hearts. Sawa and his colleagues have already succeeded in developing “cardiac muscle sheets,” in which iPS cells are differentiated into cardiac muscle cells and processed into a sheet shape. They are currently conducting a clinical trial in which muscle sheets are being applied to the hearts of patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy. This pulsating cardiomyocyte sheet will also be on display at the expo.
Pasona Group’s pavilion will be set up with characters from the renowned late manga artist Osamu Tezuka’s works “Black Jack,” whose protagonist is a highly skilled doctor, and “Astro Boy” guiding visitors.
Sawa said about his expectations for the exhibit, “Visitors can feel the root of life, its strength and its fragility. I think they can feel the breath of life as well as energy.”
(Japanese original by Mai Suganuma, Osaka Lifestyle, Science & Environment News Department)
Artificial heart made of iPS cells unveiled to press, to be displayed at 2025 Osaka expo
