Identifying the Transcriptome Signature of Calcium Channel Blocker in Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes

This study aimed to simulate chronic CCB treatment and to examine both the functional and transcriptomic changes in human cardiomyocytes. We differentiated cardiomyocytes from three human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines and exposed them to four different CCBs—nifedipine, amlodipine, diltiazem, and verapamil—at their physiological serum concentrations for two weeks. Without inducing cell death and damage to myofilament structure, CCBs elicited line specific inhibition on calcium kinetics and contractility. While all four CCBs exerted similar inhibition on calcium kinetics, verapamil applied the strongest inhibition on cardiomyocyte contractile function. By profiling cardiomyocyte transcriptome after CCB treatment, we identified little overlap in their transcriptome signatures. Verapamil is the only inhibitor that reduced the expression of contraction related genes, such as myosin heavy chain and troponin I, consistent with its depressive effects on contractile function. This is the first study to identify the transcriptome signatures of different CCBs in human cardiomyocytes. The distinct gene expression patterns suggest that although the four inhibitors act on the same target, they may have distinct effects on normal cardiac cell physiology. RNA profiling of 15 samples of calcium channel blocker- and vehicle (DMSO)-treated human iPSC-CMs