Valproic acid stimulates myogenesis in pluripotent stem cell-derived mesodermal progenitors in a NOTCH-dependent manner

AbstractMuscular dystrophies are debilitating neuromuscular disorders for which no cure exists. As this disorder affects both cardiac and skeletal muscle, patients would benefit from a cellular therapy that can simultaneously regenerate both tissues. The current protocol to derive bipotent mesodermal progenitors which can differentiate into cardiac and skeletal muscle relies on the spontaneous formation of embryoid bodies, thereby hampering further clinical translation. Additionally, as skeletal muscle is the largest organ in the human body, a high myogenic potential is necessary for successful regeneration. Here, we have optimized a protocol to generate chemically defined human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived mesodermal progenitors (cdMiPs). We demonstrate that these cells contribute to myotube formation and differentiate into cardiomyocytes, both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, the addition of valproic acid, a clinically approved small molecule, increases the potential of the cdMiPs to contribute to myotube formation that can be prevented by NOTCH signaling inhibitors. Moreover, valproic acid pre-treated cdMiPs injected in dystrophic muscles increase physical strength and ameliorate the functional performances of transplanted mice. Taken together, these results constitute a novel approach to generate mesodermal progenitors with enhanced myogenic potential using clinically approved reagents.

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Valproic acid stimulates myogenesis in pluripotent stem cell–derived mesodermal progenitors in a Notch-dependent manner

10.1101/2020.12.16.423053 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Natacha Breuls ◽

Nefele Giarratana ◽

Laura Yedigaryan ◽

Paolo Carai ◽

Stephane Heymans ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Skeletal Muscle ◽

Valproic Acid ◽

Stem Cell ◽

Pluripotent Stem Cell ◽

Cellular Therapy ◽

Neuromuscular Disorders ◽

Embryoid Bodies ◽

Dependent Manner ◽

Myogenic Potential ◽

Myotube Formation

ABSTRACTMuscular dystrophies are debilitating neuromuscular disorders for which no cure exists. As this disorder affects both cardiac and skeletal muscle, patients would benefit from a cellular therapy that can simultaneously regenerate both tissues. The current protocol to derive bipotent mesodermal progenitors which can differentiate into cardiac and skeletal muscle relies on the spontaneous formation of embryoid bodies, thereby hampering further clinical translation. Additionally, as skeletal muscle is the largest organ in the human body, a high myogenic potential is necessary for successful regeneration. Here, we have optimized a protocol to generate chemically defined induced pluripotent stem cell-derived mesodermal progenitors (cdMiPs). We demonstrate that these cells contribute to myotube formation and differentiate into cardiomyocytes, both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, the addition of valproic acid, a clinically approved small molecule, increases the potential of the cdMiPs to contribute to myotube formation without compromising their ability to differentiate towards cardiomyocytes. This effect is mediated through the activation of the Notch signaling pathway. Taken together, these results constitute a novel approach to generate mesodermal progenitors with enhanced myogenic potential using clinically approved reagents, which opens the door to new therapeutic solutions in the treatment of muscular dystrophy.

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Faculty Opinions recommendation of A Myogenic Double-Reporter Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Line Allows Prospective Isolation of Skeletal Muscle Progenitors.

Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature ◽

10.3410/f.734438486.793570764 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Warren Grayson

Keyword(s):

Skeletal Muscle ◽

Stem Cell ◽

Cell Line ◽

Pluripotent Stem Cell ◽

Human Pluripotent Stem Cell ◽

Stem Cell Line ◽

Prospective Isolation

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Abstract 366: Engineered Human Cardiac Tissue from Skeletal Muscle Derived Cells and Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Derived Cardiomyocytes

Circulation Research ◽

10.1161/res.111.suppl_1.a366 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 111 (suppl_1) ◽

Author(s):

Kimimasa Tobita ◽

Jason S Tchao ◽

Jong Kim ◽

Bo Lin ◽

Johnny Huard ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Skeletal Muscle ◽

Stem Cell ◽

Pluripotent Stem Cell ◽

Cardiac Tissue ◽

Troponin I ◽

Troponin T ◽

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell ◽

Human Cardiac Tissue ◽

Induced Pluripotent ◽

Immature Myocardium

We have previously shown that rat skeletal muscle derived stem cells differentiate into an immature cardiomyocyte (CM) phenotype within a 3-dimensional collagen gel engineered cardiac tissue (ECT). Here, we investigated whether human skeletal muscle derived progenitor cells (skMDCs) can differentiate into a CM phenotype within ECT similar to rat skeletal muscle stem cells and compared the human skMDC-ECT properties with ECT from human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSc) derived CMs. SkMDCs differentiated into a cardiac muscle phenotype within ECT and exhibited spontaneous beating activity as early as culture day 4 and maintained their activity for more than 2 weeks. SkMDC-ECTs stained positive for cardiac specific troponin-T and troponin-I, and were co-localized with fast skeletal muscle myosin heavy chain (sk-fMHC) with a striated muscle pattern similar to fetal myocardium. The iPS-CM-ECTs maintained spontaneous beating activity for more than 2 weeks from ECT construction. iPS-CM stained positive for both cardiac troponin-T and troponin-I, and were also co-localized with sk-fMHC while the striated expression pattern of sk-fMHC was lost similar to post-natal immature myocardium. Connexin-43 protein was expressed in both engineered tissue types, and the expression pattern was similar to immature myocardium. The skMDC-ECT significantly upregulated expression of cardiac-specific genes compared to conventional 2D culture. SkMDC-ECT displayed cardiac muscle like intracellular calcium ion transients. The contractile force measurements demonstrated functional properties of fetal type myocardium in both ECTs. Our results suggest that engineered human cardiac tissue from skeletal muscle progenitor cells mimics developing fetal myocardium while the engineered cardiac tissue from inducible pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes mimics post-natal immature myocardium.

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Abstract 142: Modeling Drug-Induced Long QT Syndrome with Patient-Specific Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes

Circulation Research ◽

10.1161/res.113.suppl_1.a142 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 113 (suppl_1) ◽

Author(s):

Francesca Stillitano ◽

Ioannis Karakikes ◽

Chi-wai Kong ◽

Brett Martinelli ◽

Ronald Li ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Stem Cell ◽

Pluripotent Stem Cell ◽

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell ◽

Patient Specific ◽

Dependent Manner ◽

Long Qt ◽

Drug Induced ◽

Qt Syndrome ◽

Induced Pluripotent ◽

Dose Dependent

Long QT syndrome (LQTS) is characterized by prolonged cardiac repolarization time and increased risk of ventricular arrhythmia. LQTS can be either inherited or induced notably after drugs intake. Mutations in genes encoding cardiac ion channels have been reported to underlie inherited LQTS. In contrast, drug-induced LQTS (diLQTS) most frequently arises from altered function of the hERG channel; the risk of developing diLQTS varies largely between subjects and most people who have life-threatening diLQTS have no known genetic risk factors. We investigated whether the susceptibility to develop diLQTS observed in vivo can be recapitulated in vitro using patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology. We collected skin fibroblasts from ten subjects who developed significant diLQTS after administration of Sotalol and/or Erythromycin. Ten other individuals who displayed no changes in QT interval after administration of the same drugs, were selected. iPSC were generated by retroviral delivery of Oct4, Sox2, Nanog and Klf4 in 17 of the 20 individuals. We report preliminary results obtained from iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CMs) of two subjects. All experiments were performed in a blinded fashion without knowledge of the associated clinical phenotype. Cardiac differentiation of iPSC resulted in the generation of spontaneously beating embryoid bodies. iPSC-CMs showed positive staining for TNNT2, ACTN2 and Cx43. Gene expression analysis confirmed the expression of NKX2.5, MLC2v, MYH6 and MYH7, and of the relevant KCNH2 gene. The two lines had similar basal electrophysiological properties as assessed by measurements of action potential (AP) by patch-clamp technique and extracellular field potentials (FP) using micro-electrode array (MEA). E4031, a classical HERG blocker, significantly prolonged the FP duration (FPD) in a dose-dependent manner in both lines (EC50: 30.19 and 51.57 respectively). When both Sotalol and Erythromicin were used, FPD was prolonged in one of the two samples in a dose-dependent manner (EC50Sotalol: 100; EC50Erythr: 9.64) while drug response was blunted in the other cell line. This study suggests that patient-specific iPSC can be used to model the functional abnormalities observed in acquired diLQTS.

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