Inhibitors of suppressive histone modification promote direct reprogramming of fibroblasts to cardiomyocyte-like cells.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Hirai H
PROVIDER: S-EPMC3958621 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Apr
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Inhibitors of suppressive histone modification promote direct reprogramming of fibroblasts to cardiomyocyte-like cells.
Hirai Hiroyuki H Kikyo Nobuaki N
Cardiovascular research 20140129 1
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Project description:Direct reprogramming of adult somatic cells into alternative cell types has been shown for several lineages. We previously showed that GATA4, MEF2C, and TBX5 (GMT) directly reprogrammed nonmyocyte mouse heart cells into induced cardiomyocyte-like cells (iCMs) in vitro and in vivo. However, GMT alone appears insufficient in human fibroblasts, at least in vitro. Here, we show that GMT plus ESRRG and MESP1 induced global cardiac gene-expression and phenotypic shifts in human fibroblasts derived from embryonic stem cells, fetal heart, and neonatal skin. Adding Myocardin and ZFPM2 enhanced reprogramming, including sarcomere formation, calcium transients, and action potentials, although the efficiency remained low. Human iCM reprogramming was epigenetically stable. Furthermore, we found that transforming growth factor ? signaling was important for, and improved the efficiency of, human iCM reprogramming. These findings demonstrate that human fibroblasts can be directly reprogrammed toward the cardiac lineage, and lay the foundation for future refinements in vitro and in vivo.
| S-EPMC3849259 | biostudies-literature
Project description:AimsFibroblasts can be directly reprogrammed to cardiomyocyte-like cells by introducing defined genes. However, the reprogramming efficiency remains low, delaying the clinical application of this strategy to regenerative cardiology. We previously showed that fusion of the MyoD transactivation domain to the pluripotency transcription factor Oct4 facilitated the transcriptional activity of Oct4, resulting in highly efficient production of induced pluripotent stem cells. We examined whether the same approach can be applied to cardiac transcription factors to facilitate cardiac reprogramming.Methods and resultsWe fused the MyoD domain to Mef2c, Gata4, Hand2, and Tbx5 and transduced these genes in various combinations into mouse non-cardiac fibroblasts. Transduction of the chimeric Mef2c with the wild-types of the other three genes produced much larger beating clusters of cardiomyocyte-like cells faster than the combination of the four wild-type genes, with an efficiency of 3.5%, >15-fold greater than the wild-type genes.ConclusionFusion of a powerful transactivation domain to heterologous factors can increase the efficiency of direct reprogramming of fibroblasts to cardiomyocytes.
| S-EPMC3778960 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The treatment of myocardial infarction is a major challenge in medicine due to the inability of heart tissue to regenerate. Direct reprogramming of endogenous cardiac fibroblasts into functional cardiomyocytes via the delivery of transcription factor mRNAs has the potential to regenerate cardiac tissue and to treat heart failure. Even though mRNA delivery to cardiac fibroblasts has the therapeutic potential, mRNA transfection in cardiac fibroblasts has been challenging. Herein, we develop an efficient mRNA transfection in cultured mouse cardiac fibroblasts via a polyarginine-fused heart-targeting peptide and lipofectamine complex, termed C-Lipo and demonstrate the partial direct reprogramming of cardiac fibroblasts towards cardiomyocyte cells. C-Lipo enabled the mRNA-induced direct cardiac reprogramming due to its efficient transfection with low toxicity, which allowed for multiple transfections of Gata4, Mef2c, and Tbx5 (GMT) mRNAs for a period of 2 weeks. The induced cardiomyocyte-like cells had α-MHC promoter-driven GFP expression and striated cardiac muscle structure from α-actinin immunohistochemistry. GMT mRNA transfection of cultured mouse cardiac fibroblasts via C-Lipo significantly increased expression of the cardiomyocyte marker genes, Actc1, Actn2, Gja1, Hand2, and Tnnt2, after 2 weeks of transfection. Moreover, this study provides the first direct evidence that the stoichiometry of the GMT reprogramming factors influence the expression of cardiomyocyte marker genes. Our results demonstrate that mRNA delivery is a potential approach for cardiomyocyte generation.
| S-EPMC4358644 | biostudies-literature
Project description:OBJECTIVE:Reprogramming of fibroblasts into induced cardiomyocytes represents a potential new therapy for heart failure. We hypothesized that inactivation of p63, a p53 gene family member, may help overcome human cell resistance to reprogramming. METHODS:p63 Knockout (-/-) and knockdown murine embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs), p63-/- adult murine cardiac fibroblasts, and human cardiac fibroblasts were assessed for cardiomyocyte-specific feature changes, with or without treatment by the cardiac transcription factors Hand2-Myocardin (HM). RESULTS:Flow cytometry revealed that a significantly greater number of p63-/- MEFs expressed the cardiac-specific marker cardiac troponin T (cTnT) in culture compared with wild-type (WT) cells (38% ± 11% vs 0.9% ± 0.9%, P < .05). HM treatment of p63-/- MEFs increased cTnT expression to 74% ± 3% of cells but did not induce cTnT expression in wild-type murine embryonic fibroblasts. shRNA-mediated p63 knockdown likewise yielded a 20-fold increase in cTnT microRNA expression compared with untreated MEFs. Adult murine cardiac fibroblasts demonstrated a 200-fold increase in cTnT gene expression after inducible p63 knockout and expressed sarcomeric α-actinin as well as cTnT. These p63-/- adult cardiac fibroblasts exhibited calcium transients and electrically stimulated contractions when co-cultured with neonatal rat cardiomyocytes and treated with HM. Increased expression of cTnT and other marker genes was also observed in p63 knockdown human cardiac fibroblasts procured from patients undergoing procedures for heart failure. CONCLUSIONS:Downregulation of p63 facilitates direct cardiac cellular reprogramming and may help overcome the resistance of human cells to reprogramming.
| S-EPMC6050095 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Direct reprogramming strategies enable rapid conversion of somatic cells to cardiomyocytes or cardiomyocyte-like cells without going through the pluripotent state. A recently described protocol couples Yamanaka factor induction with pluripotency inhibition followed by BMP4 treatment to achieve rapid reprogramming of mouse fibroblasts to beating cardiomyocyte-like cells. The original study was performed using Matrigel-coated tissue culture polystyrene (TCPS), a stiff material that also non-specifically adsorbs serum proteins. Protein adsorption-resistant poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) materials can be covalently modified to present precise concentrations of adhesion proteins or peptides without the unintended effects of non-specifically adsorbed proteins. Here, we describe an improved protocol that incorporates custom-engineered materials. We first reproduced the Efe et al. protocol on Matrigel-coated TCPS (the original material), reprogramming adult mouse tail-tip mouse fibroblasts (TTF) and mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEF) to cardiomyocyte-like cells that demonstrated striated sarcomeric α-actinin staining, spontaneous calcium transients, and visible beating. We then designed poly(ethylene glycol) culture substrates to promote MEF adhesion via laminin and RGD-binding integrins. PEG hydrogels improved proliferation and reprogramming efficiency (evidenced by beating patch number and area, gene expression, and flow cytometry), yielding almost twice the number of sarcomeric α-actinin positive cardiomyocyte-like cells as the originally described substrate. These results illustrate that cellular reprogramming may be enhanced using custom-engineered materials.
| S-EPMC3698604 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Direct reprogramming of fibroblasts into cardiomyocyte-like cells (iCM) holds great potential for heart regeneration and disease modeling and may lead to future therapeutic applications. Currently, application of this technology is limited by our lack of understanding of the molecular mechanisms that drive direct iCM reprogramming. Using a quantitative mass spectrometry-based proteomic approach, we identified the temporal global changes in protein abundance that occur during initial phases of iCM reprogramming. Collectively, our results show systematic and temporally distinct alterations in levels of specific functional classes of proteins during the initiating steps of reprogramming including extracellular matrix proteins, translation factors, and chromatin-binding proteins. We have constructed protein relational networks associated with the initial transition of a fibroblast into an iCM. These findings demonstrate the presence of an orchestrated series of temporal steps associated with dynamic changes in protein abundance in a defined group of protein pathways during the initiating events of direct reprogramming.
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Project description: Not available
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Project description:Recent reports have shown that somatic cells, under appropriate culture conditions, could be directly reprogrammed to cardiac, hepatic, or neuronal phenotype by lineage-specific transcription factors. In this study, we demonstrate that both embryonic and adult somatic fibroblasts can be efficiently reprogrammed to clonal multilineage hematopoietic progenitors by the ectopic expression of the transcription factors ERG, GATA2, LMO2, RUNX1c, and SCL. These reprogrammed cells were stably expanded on stromal cells and possessed short-term reconstitution ability in vivo. Loss of p53 function facilitated reprogramming to blood, and p53(-/-) reprogrammed cells efficiently generated erythroid, megakaryocytic, myeloid, and lymphoid lineages. Genome-wide analyses revealed that generation of hematopoietic progenitors was preceded by the appearance of hemogenic endothelial cells expressing endothelial and hematopoietic genes. Altogether, our findings suggest that direct reprogramming could represent a valid alternative approach to the differentiation of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) or induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) for disease modeling and autologous blood cell therapies.
| S-EPMC4542300 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Transplantation of exogenous dopaminergic neuron (DA neurons) is a promising approach for treating Parkinson's disease (PD). However, a major stumbling block has been the lack of a reliable source of donor DA neurons. Here we show that a combination of five transcriptional factors Mash1, Ngn2, Sox2, Nurr1, and Pitx3 can directly and effectively reprogram human fibroblasts into DA neuron-like cells. The reprogrammed cells stained positive for various markers for DA neurons. They also showed characteristic DA uptake and production properties. Moreover, they exhibited DA neuron-specific electrophysiological profiles. Finally, they provided symptomatic relief in a rat PD model. Therefore, our directly reprogrammed DA neuron-like cells are a promising source of cell-replacement therapy for PD.
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Project description:The skin of patients with an extensive deep burn injury is repaired by a process that leaves a hypertrophic scar without sweat glands and therefore loses the function of perspiration. The aim of this study was to identify whether the key factors related to sweat gland development could directly reprogram fibroblasts into sweat gland-like cells. After introducing the NF-κB and Lef-1 genes into fibroblasts, we found that stably transfected fibroblasts expressed specific markers of sweat glands, including CEA, CK7, CK14 and CK19, both at the protein and mRNA levels. The immunofluorescence staining also showed positive expression of CEA, CK7, CK14 and CK19 in induced fibroblasts, but there were no positive cells in the control groups. The expression of Shh and Cyclin D1, downstream genes of NF-κB and Lef-1, were also significantly increased during regeneration. The induced fibroblasts were implanted into an animal model. Twenty days later, iodine-starch perspiration tests showed that 7 out of the 10 cell-treated paws were positive for perspiration, with a distinctive black point-like area appearing in the center of the paw. Contralateral paws tested negative. Histological examination of skin biopsies from experimental and control paws revealed that sweat glands were fully reconstructed in the test paws, with integral, secretory and ductal portions, but were not present in the control paws. This is the first report of successful reprogramming of fibroblasts into sweat gland-like cells, which will provide a new cell source for sweat gland regeneration in patients with extensive deep burns.
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