Tuesday, March 31, 2026
The atrium is critical to cardiac function, yet studying it closely in humans remains challenging. Despite its key role in conditions like atrial fibrillation and heart failure, we still lack strong human models to directly assess atrial function.
Contact person
Dr. Yannick Taverne
y.j.h.j.taverne@erasmusmc.nl
In this work, we establish and systematically characterise human atrial living myocardial slices: a scalable, high-resolution model of atrial biomechanics.
Using the largest dataset of human atrial slices to date, we demonstrate that atrial disease is not a single entity, but leaves distinct mechanical signatures.
Specifically, we show that:
• Heart failure and atrial dilatation markedly impair force generation and slow contraction–relaxation dynamics
• Atrial fibrillation shows preserved contractility, but increased variability in refractoriness
• These disease signatures are consistent across the atrium, with limited regional or transmural differences
Human atrial slices provide a way to study atrial dysfunction across disease states directly in human tissue. And most importantly: they allow us to dissect disease mechanisms and test targeted therapies in a patient-specific setting.
By Elisa C.H. van Doorn, Lu Zhang, Kevin Veen, Jorik H. Amesz, Jolanda Kluin, Natasja M.S. de Groot, and Yannick J.H.J. Taverne at Erasmus MC
