scholarly journals SARS-CoV-2 infection of human iPSC-derived cardiac cells reflects cytopathic features in hearts of patients with COVID-19

2021 ◽  
pp. eabf7872
Author(s):  
Juan A. Perez-Bermejo ◽  
Serah Kang ◽  
Sarah J. Rockwood ◽  
Camille R. Simoneau ◽  
David A. Joy ◽  
...  

Although coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) causes cardiac dysfunction in up to 25% of patients, its pathogenesis remains unclear. Exposure of human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived heart cells to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) revealed productive infection and robust transcriptomic and morphological signatures of damage, particularly in cardiomyocytes. Transcriptomic disruption of structural genes corroborates adverse morphologic features, which included a distinct pattern of myofibrillar fragmentation and nuclear disruption. Human autopsy specimens from patients with COVID-19 reflected similar alterations, particularly sarcomeric fragmentation. These striking cytopathic features in cardiomyocytes provide insights into SARS-CoV-2-induced cardiac damage, offer a platform for discovery of potential therapeutics, and raise concerns about the long-term consequences of COVID-19 in asymptomatic as well as severe cases.

Author(s):  
Juan A. Pérez-Bermejo ◽  
Serah Kang ◽  
Sarah J. Rockwood ◽  
Camille R. Simoneau ◽  
David A. Joy ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTAlthough COVID-19 causes cardiac dysfunction in up to 25% of patients, its pathogenesis remains unclear. Exposure of human iPSC-derived heart cells to SARS-CoV-2 revealed productive infection and robust transcriptomic and morphological signatures of damage, particularly in cardiomyocytes. Transcriptomic disruption of structural proteins corroborated adverse morphologic features, which included a distinct pattern of myofibrillar fragmentation and numerous iPSC-cardiomyocytes lacking nuclear DNA. Human autopsy specimens from COVID-19 patients displayed similar sarcomeric disruption, as well as cardiomyocytes without DNA staining. These striking cytopathic features provide new insights into SARS-CoV-2 induced cardiac damage, offer a platform for discovery of potential therapeutics, and raise serious concerns about the long-term consequences of COVID-19.


Circulation ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 132 (suppl_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Keitaro Domae ◽  
Shigeru Miyagawa ◽  
Satsuki Fukushima ◽  
Atsuhiro Saito ◽  
Yukiko Imanishi ◽  
...  

Introduction: It has been shown that transplanted induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived cardiac cells in the myocardial infarction (MI) heart synchronously contract with native myocardium to mechanically contribute to functional recovery in rodent models. We herein hypothesized that large scale cardiac cell-sheets generated by human iPSCs may induce a greater functional recovery than small scale ones after transplantation in chronic MI heart. Methods: Bioreactor-based three-dimensional suspension culture system was used for generating large scale-expanded human iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes, of which cardiac troponin T positivity was constantly 75-85%. Scaffold-free cell-sheets containing several cell number (1.0х10^6, 10^7, 10^8) were transplanted over the cardiac surface in porcine chronic MI heart (n=5 each). Tacrolimus and prednisolone were daily given in all pigs against xeno-transplantation-inducing immune reaction. Results: Echocardiographically, left ventricular systolic and diastolic dimensions were significantly decreasing and ejection fraction was significantly increasing in the 10^8 cell group. In addition, global myocardial structure was better preserved in the 10^8 cell group with presence of the graft in the infarct area macroscopically (Figure). Moreover, there were significantly less accumulation of interstitial fibrosis in the infarct-remote area and greater vascular density and expression of VEGF, bFGF, and SDF-1 in the infarct-border area in the 10^8 cell group than the other groups at 3 months after the transplantation. Conclusions: Large scale human iPSC-derived cardiac cells were engrafted in the infarct myocardium, showing substantial functional recovery in a porcine chronic MI heart, indicating that artificial cell-based myocardial replacement therapy may be achieved. In contrast, small scale cardiac cells induced modest functional recovery, suggesting paracrine mechanisms of this treatment.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Reina Bassil ◽  
Kenneth Shields ◽  
Kevin Granger ◽  
Ivan Zein ◽  
Shirley Ng ◽  
...  

AbstractAdvancement in human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) neuron and microglial differentiation protocols allow for disease modeling using physiologically relevant cells. However, iPSC differentiation and culturing protocols have posed challenges to maintaining consistency. Here, we generated an automated, consistent, and long-term culturing platform of human iPSC neurons, astrocytes, and microglia. Using this platform we generated a iPSC AD model using human derived cells, which showed signs of Aβ plaques, dystrophic neurites around plaques, synapse loss, dendrite retraction, axon fragmentation, phospho-Tau induction, and neuronal cell death in one model. We showed that the human iPSC microglia internalized and compacted Aβ to generate and surround the plaques, thereby conferring some neuroprotection. We investigated the mechanism of action of anti-Aβ antibodies protection and found that they protected neurons from these pathologies and were most effective before pTau induction. Taken together, these results suggest that this model can facilitate target discovery and drug development efforts.


Author(s):  
Jee Myung Yang ◽  
Sunho Chung ◽  
KyungA Yun ◽  
Bora Kim ◽  
Seongjun So ◽  
...  

AbstractRetinal degenerative disorders, including age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa (RP), are characterized by the irreversible loss of photoreceptor cells and retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells; however, the long-term effect of implanting both human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived RPE and photoreceptor for retinal regeneration has not yet been investigated. In this study, we evaluated the long-term effects of hiPSC-derived RPE and photoreceptor cell transplantation in Pde6b knockout rats to study RP; cells were injected into the subretinal space of the right eyes of rats before the appearance of signs of retinal degeneration at 2–3 weeks of age. Ten months after transplantation, we evaluated the cells using fundus photography, optical coherence tomography, and histological evaluation, and no abnormal cell proliferation was observed. A relatively large number of transplanted cells persisted during the first 4 months; subsequently, the number of these cells decreased gradually. Notably, immunohistochemical analysis revealed that the hiPSC-derived retinal cells showed characteristics of both RPE cells and photoreceptors of human origin after transplantation. Functional analysis of vision by scotopic electroretinogram revealed significant preservation of vision after transplantation. Our study suggests that the transplantation of hiPSC-derived retinal cells, including RPE cells and photoreceptors, has a potential therapeutic effect against irreversible retinal degenerative diseases.


2017 ◽  
Vol 312 (6) ◽  
pp. H1144-H1153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sam Chai ◽  
Xiaoping Wan ◽  
Drew M. Nassal ◽  
Haiyan Liu ◽  
Christine S. Moravec ◽  
...  

Two-pore K+ (K2p) channels have been described in modulating background conductance as leak channels in different physiological systems. In the heart, the expression of K2p channels is heterogeneous with equivocation regarding their functional role. Our objective was to determine the K2p expression profile and their physiological and pathophysiological contribution to cardiac electrophysiology. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) generated from humans were differentiated into cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CMs). mRNA was isolated from these cells, commercial iPSC-CM (iCells), control human heart ventricular tissue (cHVT), and ischemic (iHF) and nonischemic heart failure tissues (niHF). We detected 10 K2p channels in the heart. Comparing quantitative PCR expression of K2p channels between human heart tissue and iPSC-CMs revealed K2p1.1, K2p2.1, K2p5.1, and K2p17.1 to be higher expressed in cHVT, whereas K2p3.1 and K2p13.1 were higher in iPSC-CMs. Notably, K2p17.1 was significantly lower in niHF tissues compared with cHVT. Action potential recordings in iCells after K2p small interfering RNA knockdown revealed prolongations in action potential depolarization at 90% repolarization for K2p2.1, K2p3.1, K2p6.1, and K2p17.1. Here, we report the expression level of 10 human K2p channels in iPSC-CMs and how they compared with cHVT. Importantly, our functional electrophysiological data in human iPSC-CMs revealed a prominent role in cardiac ventricular repolarization for four of these channels. Finally, we also identified K2p17.1 as significantly reduced in niHF tissues and K2p4.1 as reduced in niHF compared with iHF. Thus, we advance the notion that K2p channels are emerging as novel players in cardiac ventricular electrophysiology that could also be remodeled in cardiac pathology and therefore contribute to arrhythmias. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Two-pore K+ (K2p) channels are traditionally regarded as merely background leak channels in myriad physiological systems. Here, we describe the expression profile of K2p channels in human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes and outline a salient role in cardiac repolarization and pathology for multiple K2p channels.


Stem Cells ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (9) ◽  
pp. 2748-2761 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylwia Bobis-Wozowicz ◽  
Katarzyna Kmiotek ◽  
Malgorzata Sekula ◽  
Sylwia Kedracka-Krok ◽  
Elzbieta Kamycka ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob B. Ruden ◽  
Mrinalini Dixit ◽  
José C. Zepeda ◽  
Brad A. Grueter ◽  
Laura L. Dugan

N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors are critical for higher-order nervous system function, but in previously published protocols to convert human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to mature neurons, functional NMDA receptors (NMDARs) are often either not reported or take an extended time to develop. Here, we describe a protocol to convert human iPSC-derived neural progenitor cells (NPCs) to mature neurons in only 37 days. We demonstrate that the mature neurons express functional NMDARs exhibiting ligand-activated calcium flux, and we document the presence of NMDAR-mediated electrically evoked postsynaptic current. In addition to being more rapid than previous procedures, our protocol is straightforward, does not produce organoids which are difficult to image, and does not involve co-culture with rodent astrocytes. This could enhance our ability to study primate/human-specific aspects of NMDAR function and signaling in health and disease.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (15) ◽  
Author(s):  
John P. Maufort ◽  
Jacqueline S. Israel ◽  
Matthew E. Brown ◽  
Steve J. Kempton ◽  
Nicholas J. Albano ◽  
...  

Background Arterial bypass and interposition grafts are used routinely across multiple surgical subspecialties. Current options include both autologous and synthetic materials; however, each graft presents specific limitations. Engineering artificial small‐diameter arteries with vascular cells derived from induced pluripotent stem cells could provide a useful therapeutic solution. Banking induced pluripotent stem cells from rare individuals who are homozygous for human leukocyte antigen alleles has been proposed as a strategy to facilitate economy of scale while reducing the potential for rejection of induced pluripotent stem cell–derived transplanted tissues. Currently, there is no standardized model to study transplantation of small‐diameter arteries in major histocompatibility complex–defined backgrounds. Methods and Results In this study, we developed a limb‐sparing nonhuman primate model to study arterial allotransplantation in the absence of immunosuppression. Our model was used to compare degrees of major histocompatibility complex matching between arterial grafts and recipient animals with long‐term maintenance of patency and function. Unexpectedly, we (1) found that major histocompatibility complex partial haplomatched allografts perform as well as autologous control grafts; (2) detected little long‐term immune response in even completely major histocompatibility complex mismatched allografts; and (3) observed that arterial grafts become almost completely replaced over time with recipient cells. Conclusions Given these findings, induced pluripotent stem cell–derived tissue‐engineered blood vessels may prove to be promising and customizable grafts for future use by cardiac, vascular, and plastic surgeons.


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