A biomimetic hydrogel culture system to facilitate cardiac reprogramming

Direct cardiac reprogramming, in which fibroblasts are converted into induced cardiomyocytes (iCMs) with cardiogenic transcription factors, may be a promising approach for myocardial regeneration. Here, we present a protocol for cardiac reprogramming using a handmade hydrogel culture system. This system can recapitulate substrate stiffness comparable to that of the native myocardium. This protocol features improved efficiency of cardiac reprogramming by generating threefold more beating iCMs on the Matrigel-based hydrogel culture system compared to that on conventional polystyrene dishes. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Kurotsu et al. (2020).