Methods of generating human cardiac cells and tissues and uses thereof

A method of generating issue predominantly displaying at least one characteristic associated with a cardiac phenotype, the method comprising:

• (a) partially dispersing a confluent cults population of human stem cells, thereby generating a cell population including cell aggregates;
• (b) subjecting said cell aggregates to culturing conditions suitable for generating embryoid bodies;
• and
• (c) subjecting said embryoid bodies to culturing conditions suitable for inducing cardiac lineage differentiation in at least a portion of the cells of said embryoid bodies thereby generating tissue predominantly displaying at least one characteristic associated with the cardiac phenotype.

A method of characterizing a biological state or a biological process of cardiac cells or cardiac tissue, the method comprising:

• (a) partially dispersing a confluent cultured population of human stem cells, thereby generating a cell population including cell aggregates;
• (b) subjecting said cell aggregates to culturing conditions suitable for generating embryoid bodies;
• (c) subjecting said embryoid bodies to culturing conditions suitable for inducing cardiac lineage differentiation in at least a portion of the cells of said embryoid bodies thereby generating cells predominantly displaying at least one characteristic associated with a cardiac phenotype, or tissue predominantly displaying at least one characteristic associated with a cardiac phenotype;
• and
• (d) obtaining data characterizing the biological state or the biological process in said cells predominantly displaying at least one characteristic associated with a cardiac phenotype, or said tissue predominantly displaying at least one characteristic associated with a cardiac phenotype.

A method of qualifying the effect of a treatment on a biological state or a biological process of cardiac cells or cardiac tissue, the method comprising:

• (a) partially dispersing a confluent cultured population of human stem cells, thereby generating a cell population including cell aggregates;
• (b) subjecting said cell aggregates to culturing conditions suitable for generating embryoid bodies;
• (c) subjecting said embryoid bodies to culturing conditions suitable for inducing cardiac lineage differentiation in at least a portion of the cells of said embryoid bodies thereby generating cells predominantly displaying at least one characteristic associated with a cardiac phenotype, or tissue predominantly displaying at least one characteristic associated with a cardiac phenotype;
• (d) subjecting said cells predominantly displaying at least one characteristic associated with a cardiac phenotype, or said tissue predominantly displaying at least one characteristic associated with a cardiac phenotype to the treatment;
• and
• (e) monitoring the biological state or the biological process in said cells predominantly displaying at least one characteristic associated with a cardiac phenotype, or said tissue predominantly displaying at least one characteristic associated with a cardiac phenotype, thereby qualifying the effect of the treatment on the biological state or the biological process.

A method of repairing cardiac tissue in a subject, the method comprising:

• (a) partially dispersing a confluent cultured population of human stem cells, thereby generating a cell population including cell aggregates;
• (b) subjecting said cell aggregates to culturing conditions suitable for generating embryoid bodies;
• (c) subjecting said embryoid bodies to culturing conditions suitable for inducing cardiac lineage differentiation in at least a portion of the cells of said embryoid bodies thereby generating cells predominantly displaying at least one characteristic associated with a cardiac phenotype, or tissue predominantly displaying at least one characteristic associated with a cardiac phenotype;
• and
• (d) administering a therapeutically effective dose of said cells predominantly displaying at least one characteristic associated with a cardiac phenotype, and/or said tissue predominantly displaying at least one characteristic associated with a cardiac phenotype to the heart of the subject, thereby repairing cardiac tissue in the subject.