Co-culture with normal and senescent AC16 cardiomyocytes modulates fibrotic response in primary human ventricular fibroblasts

Transwell co-culture with human AC16 cardiomyocyte-like cells modifies the response of primary human ventricular fibroblasts to TGF-β stimulation. Fibrotic response markers including collagen I (COL1A1) and ɑ-smooth muscle actin (ACTA2) are amplified in the presence of AC16 cells, whereas others including periostin (POSTN) and fibronectin (FN1) are suppressed. Similar modulation is observed when the ventricular fibroblasts are co-cultured with AC16 cells under baseline and induced senescence conditions. Given that the response to TGF-β stimulation is commonly measured to study fibrotic signaling and drug treatments in vitro, the results here suggest that the effect of cellular crosstalk should be more broadly considered.