Patent ID: 7611852

Claim:
A method for testing an agent for effect on human cardiac cells comprising the steps of culturing aggregates of approximately 500-800 undifferentiated human embryonic stem cells to produce embryoid bodies; differentiating the embryoid bodies in in vitro culture for between 40 and 95 days to derive atrial-, ventricular- and nodal cardiomyocyte cell types; piercing a single cardiomyocyte with an electrode so that the transmembrane action membrane of that cardiomyocyte can be electrically measured; measuring the transmembrane action potential of the single cardiomyocyte; assessing the transmembrane action potential of the cardiomyocyte to characterize the cardiomyocyte as to the cell type of the human heart that the action potential most resembles among the cell types selected from the group consisting of ventricular, atrial and nodal cell types; exposing the cardiomyocyte to the agent; and observing whether the action potential of the cardiomyocyte changes after the exposure to the agent.