scholarly journals Sall4 and Myocd Empower Direct Cardiac Reprogramming From Adult Cardiac Fibroblasts After Injury

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hong Zhao ◽  
Yi Zhang ◽  
Xiaochan Xu ◽  
Qiushi Sun ◽  
Chunyan Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transcription Factors ◽  
Post Infection ◽  
Cardiac Development ◽  
Cardiac Fibroblasts ◽  
Heart Diseases ◽  
Direct Conversion ◽  
Adult Mice ◽  
Five Factors

Direct conversion of fibroblasts into induced cardiomyocytes (iCMs) holds promising potential to generate functional cardiomyocytes for drug development and clinical applications, especially for direct in situ heart regeneration by delivery of reprogramming genes into adult cardiac fibroblasts in injured hearts. For a decade, many cocktails of transcription factors have been developed to generate iCMs from fibroblasts of different tissues in vitro and some were applied in vivo. Here, we aimed to develop genetic cocktails that induce cardiac reprogramming directly in cultured cardiac fibroblasts isolated from adult mice with myocardial infarction (MICFs), which could be more relevant to heart diseases. We found that the widely used genetic cocktail, Gata4, Mef2c, and Tbx5 (GMT) were inefficient in reprogramming cardiomyocytes from MICFs. In a whole well of a 12-well plate, less than 10 mCherry+ cells (<0.1%) were observed after 2 weeks of GMT infection with Myh6-reporter transgenic MICFs. By screening 22 candidate transcription factors predicted through analyzing the gene regulatory network of cardiac development, we found that five factors, GMTMS (GMT plus Myocd and Sall4), induced more iCMs expressing the cardiac structural proteins cTnT and cTnI at a frequency of about 22.5 ± 2.7% of the transduced MICFs at day 21 post infection. What is more, GMTMS induced abundant beating cardiomyocytes at day 28 post infection. Specifically, Myocd contributed mainly to inducing the expression of cardiac proteins, while Sall4 accounted for the induction of functional properties, such as contractility. RNA-seq analysis of the iCMs at day 28 post infection revealed that they were reprogrammed to adopt a cardiomyocyte-like gene expression profile. Overall, we show here that Sall4 and Myocd play important roles in cardiac reprogramming from MICFs, providing a cocktail of genetic factors that have potential for further applications in in vivo cardiac reprogramming.

scholarly journals Up-Regulating Relaxin Expression by G-Quadruplex Interactive Ligand to Achieve Antifibrotic Action

Endocrinology ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 153 (8) ◽  
pp. 3692-3700 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui-Ping Gu ◽  
Sen Lin ◽  
Ming Xu ◽  
Hai-Yi Yu ◽  
Xiao-Jun Du ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Cardiac Fibrosis ◽  
Cardiac Fibroblasts ◽  
Heart Diseases ◽  
Gene Promoter ◽  
Binding Motif ◽  
Endogenous Expression ◽  
G Quadruplex

Myocardial fibrosis is a key pathological change in a variety of heart diseases contributing to the development of heart failure, arrhythmias, and sudden death. Recent studies have shown that relaxin prevents and reverses cardiac fibrosis. Endogenous expression of relaxin was elevated in the setting of heart disease; the extent of such up-regulation, however, is insufficient to exert compensatory actions, and the mechanism regulating relaxin expression is poorly defined. In the rat relaxin-1 (RLN1, Chr1) gene promoter region we found presence of repeated guanine (G)-rich sequences, which allowed formation and stabilization of G-quadruplexes with the addition of a G-quadruplex interactive ligand berberine. The G-rich sequences and the G-quadruplexes were localized adjacent to the binding motif of signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT)3, which negatively regulates relaxin expression. Thus, we hypothesized that the formation and stabilization of G-quadruplexes by berberine could influence relaxin expression. We found that berberine-induced formation of G-quadruplexes did increase relaxin gene expression measured at mRNA and protein levels. Formation of G-quadruplexes significantly reduced STAT3 binding to the promoter of relaxin gene. This was associated with consequent increase in the binding of RNA polymerase II and STAT5a to relaxin gene promoter. In cardiac fibroblasts and rats treated with angiotensin II, berberine was found to suppress fibroblast activation, collagen synthesis, and extent of cardiac fibrosis through up-regulating relaxin. The antifibrotic action of berberine in vitro and in vivo was similar to that by exogenous relaxin. Our findings document a novel therapeutic strategy for fibrosis through up-regulating expression of endogenous relaxin.

Abstract 96: Inactivation of Neddylation Causes Left Ventricular Noncompaction Cardiomyopathy Through Suppressing YAP Signaling

2017 ◽  
Vol 121 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianqiu Zou ◽  
Wenxia Ma ◽  
Jie Li ◽  
Rodney Littlejohn ◽  
Il-man Kim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cardiac Development ◽  
Heart Diseases ◽  
Left Ventricular ◽  
Late Gestation ◽  
Mouse Heart ◽  
Cardiomyocyte Proliferation ◽  
Transcription Cofactor ◽  
Wild Type Counterpart

Rationale: Cardiac development is orchestrated by a number of growth factors, transcription factors and epigenetic regulators, perturbation of which can lead to congenital heart diseases and cardiomyopathies. However, the role of novel ubiquitin-like protein modifiers, such as NEDD8 (neural precursor cells expressed developmentally downregulated 8), in cardiac development is unknown. Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine the significance of NEDD8 modification (neddylation) during perinatal cardiac development. Methods and Results: Neddylated proteins and NEDD8 enzymes were highly abundant in fetal and neonatal hearts but downregulated in adult hearts. We employed an αMHC Cre transgene to delete NAE1, a subunit of the NEDD8 E1 enzyme, in the perinatal mouse heart. Cardiac-specific deletion of NAE1 (NAE1 CKO ) significantly decreased neddylated proteins in the heart. The NAE1 CKO mice displayed cardiac hypoplasia, ventricular non-compaction and heart failure during late gestation, which became more pronounced by postnatal day 1 and led to perinatal lethality. Mechanistically, genetic deletion or pharmacological inhibition of NAE1 resulted in accumulation of Hippo kinases Mst1 and LATS1/2, which in turn phosphorylated and inactivated YAP, a transcription cofactor necessary for cardiomyocyte proliferation, leading to dysregulation of a number of cell cycle-regulatory genes and blockade of cardiomyocyte proliferation in vivo and in vitro . Reactivation of YAP signaling by overexpression of a constitutively-active YAP mutant (YAP 5SA ), but not its wild-type counterpart, overcame the blockade of cardiomyocyte proliferation induced by inhibition of NAE1. Conclusions: Our findings establish the importance of neddylation in the heart, more specifically, in ventricular chamber maturation, and identify neddylation as a novel regulator of Hippo-YAP signaling to promote cardiomyocyte proliferation.

scholarly journals Placenta to cartilage: direct conversion of human placenta to chondrocytes with transformation by defined factors

2012 ◽  
Vol 23 (18) ◽  
pp. 3511-3521 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryuga Ishii ◽  
Daisuke Kami ◽  
Masashi Toyoda ◽  
Hatsune Makino ◽  
Satoshi Gojo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transcription Factors ◽  
Human Fibroblasts ◽  
Direct Conversion ◽  
Cellular Reprogramming ◽  
Irreversible Processes ◽  
Cell Based Therapy ◽  
Decidual Cells ◽  
Cell Conversion

Cellular differentiation and lineage commitment are considered to be robust and irreversible processes during development. Recent work has shown that mouse and human fibroblasts can be reprogrammed to a pluripotent state with a combination of four transcription factors. We hypothesized that combinatorial expression of chondrocyte-specific transcription factors could directly convert human placental cells into chondrocytes. Starting from a pool of candidate genes, we identified a combination of only five genes (5F pool)—BCL6, T (also called BRACHYURY), c-MYC, MITF, and BAF60C (also called SMARCD3)—that rapidly and efficiently convert postnatal human chorion and decidual cells into chondrocytes. The cells generated expressed multiple cartilage-specific genes, such as Collagen type II α1, LINK PROTEIN-1, and AGGRECAN, and exhibited characteristics of cartilage both in vivo and in vitro. Expression of the endogenous genes for T and MITF was initiated, implying that the cell conversion is due to not only the forced expression of the transgenes, but also to cellular reprogramming by the transgenes. This direct conversion system from noncartilage tissue to cartilaginous tissue is a substantial advance toward understanding cartilage development, cell-based therapy, and oncogenesis of chondrocytes.

scholarly journals P300/CBP-Associated Factor Activates Cardiac Fibroblasts by SMAD2 Acetylation

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (18) ◽  
pp. 9944
Author(s):  
Yongwoon Lim ◽  
Anna Jeong ◽  
Duk-Hwa Kwon ◽  
Yeong-Un Lee ◽  
Young-Kook Kim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cardiac Fibrosis ◽  
Transforming Growth Factor ◽  
Cardiac Fibroblasts ◽  
Heart Diseases ◽  
High Dose ◽  
Mouse Heart ◽  
Associated Factor ◽  
Tgf Β1

Various heart diseases cause cardiac remodeling, which in turn leads to ineffective contraction. Although it is an adaptive response to injury, cardiac fibrosis contributes to this remodeling, for which the reactivation of quiescent myofibroblasts is a key feature. In the present study, we investigated the role of the p300/CBP-associated factor (PCAF), a histone acetyltransferase, in the activation of cardiac fibroblasts. An intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of a high dose (160 mg/kg) of isoproterenol (ISP) induced cardiac fibrosis and reduced the amount of the PCAF in cardiac fibroblasts in the mouse heart. However, the PCAF activity was significantly increased in cardiac fibroblasts, but not in cardiomyocytes, obtained from ISP-administered mice. An in vitro study using human cardiac fibroblast cells recapitulated the in vivo results; an treatment with transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) reduced the PCAF, whereas it activated the PCAF in the fibroblasts. PCAF siRNA attenuated the TGF-β1-induced increase in and translocation of fibrosis marker proteins. PCAF siRNA blocked TGF-β1-mediated gel contraction and cell migration. The PCAF directly interacted with and acetylated mothers against decapentaplegic homolog 2 (SMAD2). PCAF siRNA prevented TGF-β1-induced phosphorylation and the nuclear localization of SMAD2. These results suggest that the increase in PCAF activity during cardiac fibrosis may participate in SMAD2 acetylation and thereby in its activation.

Abstract 331: Mir-433 Controls Cardiac Fibrosis

2015 ◽  
Vol 117 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lichan Tao ◽  
Xiaoting Wu ◽  
Ping Chen ◽  
Shanshan Li ◽  
Xiaomin Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Myocardial Infarction ◽  
Cardiac Fibrosis ◽  
Cardiac Fibroblasts ◽  
Heart Diseases ◽  
Mice Model ◽  
Ki 67 ◽  
End Stage ◽  
Common Manifestation

Background: Cardiac fibrosis, a result of multiple injurious insults in heart, is a final common manifestation of chronic heart diseases and can lead to end-stage cardiac failure. MicroRNAs (miRNAs, miRs) participate in many essential biological processes and their dysfunction has been implicated in a variety of cardiovascular diseases including fibrosis. miR-433 has recently been implicated in renal fibrosis, however, its role in cardiac fibrosis is unclear. Methods and results: miR-433 was increased in heart samples from dilated cardiomyopathy patients as determined by qRT-PCRs. In addition, miR-433 was also consistently upregulated in mice model of cardiac fibrosis after myocardial infarction or heart failure. Additionally, miR-433 was found to be enriched in fibroblasts compared to cardiomyocytes. In neonatal cardiac fibroblasts, forced expression of miR-433 promoted cell proliferation as indicated by EdU and Ki-67 staining. Moreover, miR-433 overexpression promoted the transdifferentiation of fibroblasts into myofibroblasts as determined by qRT-PCR and western blot for α-SMA and collagen whether in the presence of TGF-β or not, indicating that miR-433 is sufficient to induce fibrosis. In addition, knockdown of miR-433 inhibited proliferation and the transdifferentiation into myofibroblasts, indicating that miR-433 is required for cardiac fibrosis. Interestingly, miR-433 did not affect the migration of cardiac fibroblast. Importantly, miR-433 antagomir could partially attenuate cardiac fibrosis induced by myocardial infarction in mice. Conclusion: both in vitro and in vivo. Inhibition of miR-433 represents a novel therapeutic strategy for cardiac fibrosis.

The Role of Cardiac Fibroblasts in Extracellular Matrix-Mediated Signaling During Normal and Pathological Cardiac Development

2013 ◽  
Vol 135 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly Elizabeth Sullivan ◽  
Lauren Deems Black
Keyword(s):  
Extracellular Matrix ◽  
Cardiac Development ◽  
Cardiac Fibroblasts ◽  
Heart Defects ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Heart Tissue ◽  
Physical And Chemical

The extracellular matrix is no longer considered a static support structure for cells but a dynamic signaling network with the power to influence cell, tissue, and whole organ physiology. In the myocardium, cardiac fibroblasts are the primary cell type responsible for the synthesis, deposition, and degradation of matrix proteins, and they therefore play a critical role in the development and maintenance of functional heart tissue. This review will summarize the extensive research conducted in vivo and in vitro, demonstrating the influence of both physical and chemical stimuli on cardiac fibroblasts and how these interactions impact both the extracellular matrix and, by extension, cardiomyocytes. This work is of considerable significance, given that cardiovascular diseases are marked by extensive remodeling of the extracellular matrix, which ultimately impairs the functional capacity of the heart. We seek to summarize the unique role of cardiac fibroblasts in normal cardiac development and the most prevalent cardiac pathologies, including congenital heart defects, hypertension, hypertrophy, and the remodeled heart following myocardial infarction. We will conclude by identifying existing holes in the research that, if answered, have the potential to dramatically improve current therapeutic strategies for the repair and regeneration of damaged myocardium via mechanotransductive signaling.

scholarly journals The Future of Direct Cardiac Reprogramming: Any GMT Cocktail Variety?

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (21) ◽  
pp. 7950
Author(s):  
Leyre López-Muneta ◽  
Josu Miranda-Arrubla ◽  
Xonia Carvajal-Vergara
Keyword(s):  
Transcription Factors ◽  
Cardiac Tissue ◽  
Sendai Virus ◽  
Direct Conversion ◽  
Myocardial Cell ◽  
Cardiac Cells ◽  
Human Cells ◽  
A Cell

Direct cardiac reprogramming has emerged as a novel therapeutic approach to treat and regenerate injured hearts through the direct conversion of fibroblasts into cardiac cells. Most studies have focused on the reprogramming of fibroblasts into induced cardiomyocytes (iCMs). The first study in which this technology was described, showed that at least a combination of three transcription factors, GATA4, MEF2C and TBX5 (GMT cocktail), was required for the reprogramming into iCMs in vitro using mouse cells. However, this was later demonstrated to be insufficient for the reprogramming of human cells and additional factors were required. Thereafter, most studies have focused on implementing reprogramming efficiency and obtaining fully reprogrammed and functional iCMs, by the incorporation of other transcription factors, microRNAs or small molecules to the original GMT cocktail. In this respect, great advances have been made in recent years. However, there is still no consensus on which of these GMT-based varieties is best, and robust and highly reproducible protocols are still urgently required, especially in the case of human cells. On the other hand, apart from CMs, other cells such as endothelial and smooth muscle cells to form new blood vessels will be fundamental for the correct reconstruction of damaged cardiac tissue. With this aim, several studies have centered on the direct reprogramming of fibroblasts into induced cardiac progenitor cells (iCPCs) able to give rise to all myocardial cell lineages. Especially interesting are reports in which multipotent and highly expandable mouse iCPCs have been obtained, suggesting that clinically relevant amounts of these cells could be created. However, as of yet, this has not been achieved with human iCPCs, and exactly what stage of maturity is appropriate for a cell therapy product remains an open question. Nonetheless, the major concern in regenerative medicine is the poor retention, survival, and engraftment of transplanted cells in the cardiac tissue. To circumvent this issue, several cell pre-conditioning approaches are currently being explored. As an alternative to cell injection, in vivo reprogramming may face fewer barriers for its translation to the clinic. This approach has achieved better results in terms of efficiency and iCMs maturity in mouse models, indicating that the heart environment can favor this process. In this context, in recent years some studies have focused on the development of safer delivery systems such as Sendai virus, Adenovirus, chemical cocktails or nanoparticles. This article provides an in-depth review of the in vitro and in vivo cardiac reprograming technology used in mouse and human cells to obtain iCMs and iCPCs, and discusses what challenges still lie ahead and what hurdles are to be overcome before results from this field can be transferred to the clinical settings.

Abstract 410: Rhein Administration Prevents Cardiac Fibrosis by Interfering with the TGF-β Pathway

2017 ◽  
Vol 121 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
David Barbosa ◽  
Melanie Wehmöller ◽  
Maximilian R Spinner ◽  
Ulrich Rüther ◽  
Margriet Ouwens
Keyword(s):  
Cardiac Fibrosis ◽  
Heart Function ◽  
Cardiac Fibroblasts ◽  
Heart Diseases ◽  
Collagen Gel ◽  
Pressure Overload ◽  
Protein Levels ◽  
Adverse Remodeling

Fibrosis, which occurs in various heart diseases like acute myocardial ischemia and pressure overload, is triggered by the differentiation of fibroblasts into myofibroblasts. Dysregulation of this reparative mechanism results in excessive collagen accumulation leading to cardiac stiffness and impaired heart function. The aim of this study was to determine whether the rhubarb anthraquinone Rhein, a drug already used as treatment for chondroarthritis, prevents the transdifferentiation of cardiac fibroblasts. We observed that Rhein pre-treatment ameliorates the cardiac function and reduces adverse remodeling after acute myocardial infarction in mice, in vivo . In primary human cardiac fibroblasts, Rhein incubation dose-dependently inhibited the TGF-β-mediated upregulation of α-SMA, the master marker for myofibrolasts, and prevented the contraction of fibroblast-populated collagen gel lattices upon TGF-β stimulation. Further, Rhein reduced TGFβ-R1 expression in primary human cardiac fibroblast, resulting in decreased SMAD2 phosphorylation and blunting of the fibrogenic response. Furthermore, Rhein stabilized protein levels of SMAD7, a key inhibitor of TGF-β signaling. Collectively, these data show for the first time that Rhein administration prevents cardiac fibrosis in vivo and in vitro by blunting the TGF-β signaling pathway, and identify Rhein as potential therapeutic treatment to prevent excessive fibrosis and adverse remodeling in cardiac pathologies.

scholarly journals Generation of Heart Organoids Modeling Early Human Cardiac Development Under Defined Conditions

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yonatan Israeli ◽  
Mitchell Gabalski ◽  
Kristen Ball ◽  
Aaron Wasserman ◽  
Jinyun Zou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Time Course ◽  
Fetal Heart ◽  
Cardiac Development ◽  
Cardiac Fibroblasts ◽  
Heart Defects ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Cardiovascular Development ◽  
Human Fetal Heart

AbstractCardiovascular-related disorders are a significant worldwide health problem. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in developed countries, making up a third of the mortality rate in the US1. Congenital heart defects (CHD) affect ∼1% of all live births2, making it the most common birth defect in humans. Current technologies provide some insight into how these disorders originate but are limited in their ability to provide a complete overview of disease pathogenesis and progression due to their lack of physiological complexity. There is a pressing need to develop more faithful organ-like platforms recapitulating complex in vivo phenotypes to study human development and disease in vitro. Here, we report the most faithful in vitro organoid model of human cardiovascular development to date using human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs). Our protocol is highly efficient, scalable, shows high reproducibility and is compatible with high-throughput approaches. Furthermore, our hPSC-based heart organoids (hHOs) showed very high similarity to human fetal hearts, both morphologically and in cell-type complexity. hHOs were differentiated using a two-step manipulation of Wnt signaling using chemical inhibitors and growth factors in completely defined media and culture conditions. Organoids were successfully derived from multiple independent hPSCs lines with very similar efficiency. hHOs started beating at ∼6 days, were mostly spherical and grew up to ∼1 mm in diameter by day 15 of differentiation. hHOs developed sophisticated, interconnected internal chambers and confocal analysis for cardiac markers revealed the presence of all major cardiac lineages, including cardiomyocytes (TNNT2+), epicardial cells (WT1+, TJP+), cardiac fibroblasts (THY1+, VIM+), endothelial cells (PECAM1+), and endocardial cells (NFATC1+). Morphologically, hHOs developed well-defined epicardial and adjacent myocardial regions and presented a distinct vascular plexus as well as endocardial-lined microchambers. RNA-seq time-course analysis of hHOs, monolayer differentiated iPSCs and fetal human hearts revealed that hHOs recapitulate human fetal heart tissue development better than previously described differentiation protocols3,4. hHOs allow higher-order interaction of distinct heart tissues for the first time and display biologically relevant physical and topographical 3D cues that closely resemble the human fetal heart. Our model constitutes a powerful novel tool for discovery and translational studies in human cardiac development and disease.

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