A Method for Cardiac Differentiation, Purification, and Cardiac Spheroid Production of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) are one of the most promising cell sources for regenerative medicine. To realize the promise of hiPSCs for cardiac regenerative therapy, three major obstacles must be overcome: the first is the achievement of large-scale production of cardiomyocytes, the second is the successful elimination of non-cardiac cells containing residual pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) to prevent tumor formation, and the third is the achievement of high engraftment efficiency of transplanted cardiomyocytes. In this chapter, we introduce our protocols for cardiac differentiation, purification, and preparation of cardiac spheroids for safe and effective regenerative medicine.