Project description:Self-organisation and coordinated morphogenesis of multiple cardiac lineages is essential for the development and function of the heart1-3. However, the absence of a human in vitro model that mimics the basic lineage architecture of the heart hinders research into developmental mechanisms and congenital defects4. Here, we describe the establishment of a reliable, lineage-controlled and high-throughput cardiac organoid platform. We show that cardiac mesoderm derived from human pluripotent stem cells robustly self-organises and differentiates into cardiomyocytes forming a cavity. Co-differentiation of cardiomyocytes and endothelial cells from cardiac mesoderm within these structures is required to form a separate endothelial layer. As in vivo, the epicardium engulfs these cardiac organoids, migrates into the cardiomyocyte layer and differentiates. We use this model to demonstrate that cardiac cavity formation is controlled by a mesodermal WNT-BMP signalling axis. Disruption of one of the key BMP targets in cardiac mesoderm, the transcription factor HAND1, interferes with cavity formation, which is consistent with its role in early heart tube and left chamber development5. Thus, the cardiac organoid platform represents a powerful resource for the quantitative and mechanistic analysis of early human cardiogenesis and defects that are otherwise inaccessible. Beyond understanding congenital heart disease, cardiac organoids provide a foundation for future translational research into human cardiac disorders.
Project description:Self-organisation and coordinated morphogenesis of multiple cardiac lineages is essential for the development and function of the heart. However, the absence of a human in vitro model that mimics the basic lineage architecture of the heart hinders research into developmental mechanisms and congenital defects. Here, we describe the establishment of a reliable, lineage-controlled and high-throughput cardiac organoid platform. We show that cardiac mesoderm derived from human pluripotent stem cells robustly self-organises and differentiates into cardiomyocytes forming a cavity. Co-differentiation of cardiomyocytes and endothelial cells from cardiac mesoderm within these structures is required to form a separate endothelial layer. As in vivo, the epicardium engulfs these cardiac organoids, migrates into the cardiomyocyte layer and differentiates. Thus, the cardiac organoid platform represents a powerful resource for the quantitative and mechanistic analysis of early human cardiogenesis that is otherwise inaccessible.
Project description:We performed time-dependent, genome-wide analysis to explore gene expression profiles during in vitro cardiogenesis from embryonic stem cells to cardiac progenitor cells. Total RNA was extracted from undifferentiated stem cells, early mesodermal cells, cardiac mesodermal cells and cardiac progenitor cells. As a result of cluster analysis, Cited gene family was considered as candidate genes in cardiogenesis. Cited4 gene expression was specific for early cardiogenesis and Cited4 functioned as a cell cycle controling factor for early cardiac progenitor cells. Embryoid body was formed as in vitro cardiogenesis. Total RNA was extracted from Rex1-positive undifferentiated stem cells at day 0, Bra-positive early mesodermal cells at day 4.5, Flk1-positive cardiac mesodermal cells at day 4.5 and Nkx2.5-positive cardiac progenitor cells at day 7.5.
Project description:Mammalian heart development is built on highly conserved molecular mechanisms with polygenetic perturbations resulting in a spectrum of congenital heart diseases (CHD). However, the transcriptional landscape of cardiogenic ontogeny that regulates proper cardiogenesis remains largely based on candidate-gene approaches. Herein, we designed a time-course transcriptome analysis to investigate the genome-wide expression profile of innate murine cardiogenesis ranging from embryonic stem cells to adult cardiac structures. This comprehensive analysis generated temporal and spatial expression profiles, prioritized stage-specific gene functions, and mapped the dynamic transcriptome of cardiogenesis to curated pathways. Reconciling the bioinformatics of the congenital heart disease interactome, we deconstructed disease-centric regulatory networks encoded within this cardiogenic atlas to reveal stage-specific developmental disturbances clustered on epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), BMP regulation, NF-AT signaling, TGFb-dependent induction, and Notch signaling. Therefore, this cardiogenic transcriptional landscape defines the time-dependent expression of cardiac ontogeny and prioritizes regulatory networks at the interface between health and disease.
Project description:We performed time-dependent, genome-wide analysis to explore gene expression profiles during in vitro cardiogenesis from embryonic stem cells to cardiac progenitor cells. Total RNA was extracted from undifferentiated stem cells, early mesodermal cells, cardiac mesodermal cells and cardiac progenitor cells. As a result of cluster analysis, Cited gene family was considered as candidate genes in cardiogenesis. Cited4 gene expression was specific for early cardiogenesis and Cited4 functioned as a cell cycle controling factor for early cardiac progenitor cells.
Project description:Mammalian heart development is built on highly conserved molecular mechanisms with polygenetic perturbations resulting in a spectrum of congenital heart diseases (CHD). However, the transcriptional landscape of cardiogenic ontogeny that regulates proper cardiogenesis remains largely based on candidate-gene approaches. Herein, we designed a time-course transcriptome analysis to investigate the genome-wide expression profile of innate murine cardiogenesis ranging from embryonic stem cells to adult cardiac structures. This comprehensive analysis generated temporal and spatial expression profiles, prioritized stage-specific gene functions, and mapped the dynamic transcriptome of cardiogenesis to curated pathways. Reconciling the bioinformatics of the congenital heart disease interactome, we deconstructed disease-centric regulatory networks encoded within this cardiogenic atlas to reveal stage-specific developmental disturbances clustered on epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), BMP regulation, NF-AT signaling, TGFb-dependent induction, and Notch signaling. Therefore, this cardiogenic transcriptional landscape defines the time-dependent expression of cardiac ontogeny and prioritizes regulatory networks at the interface between health and disease. To interrogate the temporal and spatial expression profiles across the entire genome during mammalian heart development, we designed a time-course microarray experiment using the mouse model at defined stages of cardiogenesis, starting with embryonic stem cells (ESC, R1 stem cell line), early embryonic developmental stages: E7.5 whole embryos, E8.5 heart tubes, left and right ventricle tissues at E9.5, E12.5, E14.5, E18.5 to 3 days after birth (D3) and adult heart (Figure 1A). At each time point, microarray experiments were performed on triplicate biological samples. Starting at E9.5, tissue samples from left ventricles (LV) and right ventricles (RV) were microdissected for RNA purification and microarray analysis to determine spatially differential gene expression between LV and RV during heart development.
Project description:Large intergenic non-coding RNAs (lincRNAs) play widespread roles in epigenetic regulation during multiple differentiation processes, but little is known about their mode of action in cardiac differentiation. Here, we identified the key roles of a lincRNA, termed linc1405, in modulating the core network of cardiac differentiation by functionally interacting with Eomes. Chromatin- and RNA- immunoprecipitation assays showed that exon2 of linc1405 physically mediates a complex consisting of Eomes, Trithorax group (TrxG) subunit WDR5, and histone acetyltransferase GCN5 binding at the enhancer region of Mesp1 gene and activates its expression during cardiac mesoderm specification of embryonic stem cells. Importantly, linc1405 co-localizes with Eomes, WDR5, and GCN5 at the primitive streak and linc1405 depletion impairs heart development and function in vivo. In summary, linc1405 mediates a Eomes/WDR5/GCN5 complex that contributes to cardiogenesis, highlighting the critical roles of lincRNA-based complexes in the epigenetic regulation of cardiogenesis in vitro and in vivo.
Project description:Male and female disease states differ in their prevalence, treatment responses, and survival rates. In cardiac disease, women almost uniformly fare far worse than men1-3. Though sex plays a critical role in cardiac disease, the mechanisms underlying sex differences in cardiac homeostasis and disease remain unexplained. Here, we reveal sex-specific cardiac transcriptomes and proteomes and show that cardiac sex differences are predominately controlled via post-transcriptional mechanisms. Using a quantitative proteomics-based approach, we characterize differential sex-specific enriched cardiac proteins, protein complexes, and biological sex processes in the context of global genetic diversity of the Collaborative Cross. We show that differences in cardiac protein expression are established by both hormonal and genetic mechanisms and define two additional pathways, one that is SRY dependent and one that is SRY-independent. We also determined the onset of sex-biased protein expression and discovered that sex disparities in heart tissue occur at the earliest stages of heart development, during the period preceding primary mammalian sex determination. This may explain why congenital heart disease, a leading cause of death whose origin is often developmental, is sex biased. Our results reveal the molecular foundations for the differences in cardiac tissue that underlie sex disparities in health, disease, and treatment outcomes.
Project description:Here we extend our previous EMLO gastruloid technology to cardiac (EMLOC) with the generation of interconnected neuro-gut-cardiac interconnected multilineages. The contractile EMLOCs recapitulate numerous developmental features of heart tube formation and specialization, cardiomyocyte differentiation and remodeling phases, epicardium, ventricular wall morphogenesis, and formation of the putative outflow tract. Cardiogenesis in EMLOCs originates anterior to the gut tube primordium and we observe neurons that progressively populate the cardiogenic region in a pattern that mirrors the spatial distribution of neurons in heart innervation. The EMLOC mode represents the first multi-lineage advancement of neuro-cardiac lineages in a gastruloid model that parallels human cardiogenesis with neurogenesis.