ABSTRACT
Cardiomyocytes are electrically interconnected with gap junctions (GJs) to allow current to fl ow from cell to cell, ensuring simultaneous mechanical contraction. Cardiomyocytes cultured on these culture surfaces are also confl uent and connect via GJs to synchronize contraction (Oyamada et al. 1994). Therefore, in myocardial tissues prepared by layering cardiomyocyte sheets, it is crucial that electrical and morphological communications are established between the layered cell sheets. In this chapter, we review cell sheet engineering based on nanoscale surface chemistry, the preservation of nanoscale cellular structures in cell sheets, and the characteristics of 3D
myocardial tissues produced using cell sheet engineering. In addition, we describe the application of cell sheet engineering to myocardial tissue in the fi eld of regenerative medicine.
