Cardiac Tissue with Pressure
Stem Cell Reports Cover Art
I created a cover art for Stem Cell Reports for a study led by Dr. Masumoto at Kyoto University.
The study explores how hydrostatic pressure can promote the maturation of engineered cardiac tissues (ECTs) derived from human pluripotent stem cells.
Cardiomyocytes derived from human pluripotent stem cells tend to remain relatively immature, which limits their potential use in regenerative medicine. Since ventricular loading pressure plays an important role in cardiac development and repair, the researchers investigated whether applying intermittent hydrostatic pressure could help engineered cardiac tissues mature.
Their “pressure training” protocol improved cardiomyocyte alignment, mitochondrial content, metabolism, contractility, and calcium handling. The trained tissues also showed therapeutic potential when transplanted into a rat myocardial infarction model.
The paper was published at StemCellReports(2026);21(8):103019.
Visualize “Pressure Training”
For the cover, the key question was how to communicate the role of pressure in a simple and immediately recognizable way. Rather than trying to represent all of the experimental results, I focused on the central intervention: applying hydrostatic pressure to engineered cardiac tissue to promote its maturation.
I proposed two initial concepts.
Two rough sketches for the cover (left: Pressure; right: Plug-in).
The first concept: Pressure takes a direct approach. The engineered cardiac tissue is placed at the center of the composition, surrounded by large arrows pressing inward. The arrows make pressure the dominant visual message of the cover.
The second concept: Plug-in explores the research through a more playful metaphor: plugging engineered tissue into the heart. Although a puzzle-piece metaphor could also suggest transplantation or integration, the phrase “plug-in” made me think more strongly of an electrical outlet. I therefore imagined a heart-shaped plug being inserted into a matching socket.The experimental protocol is incorporated into the power cord as a series of labels, with the hydrostatic-pressure step emphasized.
The Pressure concept was ultimately selected. The researchers explained that their broader idea of “Plug-in” combines both hydrostatic pressure and dynamic flow culture, the latter being the subject of a separate study. Using the Plug-in metaphor for this cover could therefore have been premature. They liked the concept, however, and felt it might be more appropriate for a future publication focusing on the complete “Plug-in” approach.
Pencil line drawing of the heart.
To make it immediately clear that the subject is cardiac tissue, I placed a line drawing of a human heart underneath the central image. The tissue and the anatomical heart are visually connected, linking the experimental model to the organ it is intended to repair.
This concept intentionally keeps the visual language simple: cardiac tissue + pressure + heart.
A finished Cover Art (with official Stem Cell Reports logo.)
The official cover legend says: “In this issue, Maihemuti et al. show that brief intermittent pressure training enhances the maturation of engineered cardiac tissues derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells. By mimicking the mechanical forces experienced by the heart, this approach improves cardiomyocyte alignment, sarcomere organization, calcium handling, and contractile function. The cover artwork reflects the transformation of immature cardiac tissue through controlled pressure conditioning, highlighting a simple biomechanical strategy for generating functionally mature human cardiac tissues for regenerative medicine and disease modeling. Cover by Misaki Ouchida.”