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Visone R, Paoletti C, Cordiale A, Nicoletti L, Divieto C, Rasponi M, Chiono V, Occhetta P. In Vitro Mechanical Stimulation to Reproduce the Pathological Hallmarks of Human Cardiac Fibrosis on a Beating Chip and Predict The Efficacy of Drugs and Advanced Therapies. Adv Healthc Mater 2024; 13:e2301481. [PMID: 37941521 DOI: 10.1002/adhm.202301481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2023] [Revised: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 11/10/2023]
Abstract
Cardiac fibrosis is one of the main causes of heart failure, significantly contributing to mortality. The discovery and development of effective therapies able to heal fibrotic pathological symptoms thus remain of paramount importance. Micro-physiological systems (MPS) are recently introduced as promising platforms able to accelerate this finding. Here a 3D in vitro model of human cardiac fibrosis, named uScar, is developed by imposing a cyclic mechanical stimulation to human atrial cardiac fibroblasts (AHCFs) cultured in a 3D beating heart-on-chip and exploited to screen drugs and advanced therapeutics. The sole provision of a cyclic 10% uniaxial strain at 1 Hz to the microtissues is sufficient to trigger fibrotic traits, inducing a consistent fibroblast-to-myofibroblast transition and an enhanced expression and production of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. Standard of care anti-fibrotic drugs (i.e., Pirfenidone and Tranilast) are confirmed to be efficient in preventing the onset of fibrotic traits in uScar. Conversely, the mechanical stimulation applied to the microtissues limit the ability of a miRNA therapy to directly reprogram fibroblasts into cardiomyocytes (CMs), despite its proved efficacy in 2D models. Such results demonstrate the importance of incorporating in vivo-like stimulations to generate more representative 3D in vitro models able to predict the efficacy of therapies in patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberta Visone
- BiomimX Srl, Milan, 20157, Italy
- Department of Electronics, Informatics and Bioengineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, 20133, Italy
| | - Camilla Paoletti
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, Turin, 10129, Italy
- Centro 3R (Interuniversity Center for the Promotion of 3Rs Principles in Teaching and Research), Pisa, 56122, Italy
| | - Alessandro Cordiale
- Department of Electronics, Informatics and Bioengineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, 20133, Italy
| | - Letizia Nicoletti
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, Turin, 10129, Italy
- Centro 3R (Interuniversity Center for the Promotion of 3Rs Principles in Teaching and Research), Pisa, 56122, Italy
| | - Carla Divieto
- Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica, Division of Advanced Materials and Life Sciences, Turin, 10135, Italy
| | - Marco Rasponi
- Department of Electronics, Informatics and Bioengineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, 20133, Italy
- Centro 3R (Interuniversity Center for the Promotion of 3Rs Principles in Teaching and Research), Pisa, 56122, Italy
| | - Valeria Chiono
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, Turin, 10129, Italy
- Centro 3R (Interuniversity Center for the Promotion of 3Rs Principles in Teaching and Research), Pisa, 56122, Italy
| | - Paola Occhetta
- BiomimX Srl, Milan, 20157, Italy
- Department of Electronics, Informatics and Bioengineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, 20133, Italy
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Benarroch L, Madsen-Østerbye J, Abdelhalim M, Mamchaoui K, Ohana J, Bigot A, Mouly V, Bonne G, Bertrand AT, Collas P. Cellular and Genomic Features of Muscle Differentiation from Isogenic Fibroblasts and Myoblasts. Cells 2023; 12:1995. [PMID: 37566074 PMCID: PMC10417614 DOI: 10.3390/cells12151995] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Revised: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 08/12/2023] Open
Abstract
The ability to recapitulate muscle differentiation in vitro enables the exploration of mechanisms underlying myogenesis and muscle diseases. However, obtaining myoblasts from patients with neuromuscular diseases or from healthy subjects poses ethical and procedural challenges that limit such investigations. An alternative consists in converting skin fibroblasts into myogenic cells by forcing the expression of the myogenic regulator MYOD. Here, we directly compared cellular phenotype, transcriptome, and nuclear lamina-associated domains (LADs) in myo-converted human fibroblasts and myotubes differentiated from myoblasts. We used isogenic cells from a 16-year-old donor, ruling out, for the first time to our knowledge, genetic factors as a source of variations between the two myogenic models. We show that myo-conversion of fibroblasts upregulates genes controlling myogenic pathways leading to multinucleated cells expressing muscle cell markers. However, myotubes are more advanced in myogenesis than myo-converted fibroblasts at the phenotypic and transcriptomic levels. While most LADs are shared between the two cell types, each also displays unique domains of lamin A/C interactions. Furthermore, myotube-specific LADs are more gene-rich and less heterochromatic than shared LADs or LADs unique to myo-converted fibroblasts, and they uniquely sequester developmental genes. Thus, myo-converted fibroblasts and myotubes retain cell type-specific features of radial and functional genome organization. Our results favor a view of myo-converted fibroblasts as a practical model to investigate the phenotypic and genomic properties of muscle cell differentiation in normal and pathological contexts, but also highlight current limitations in using fibroblasts as a source of myogenic cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Louise Benarroch
- Sorbonne Université, Inserm, Institut de Myologie, Centre de Recherche en Myologie, 75013 Paris, France; (L.B.); (K.M.); (J.O.); (A.B.); (V.M.); (G.B.)
| | - Julia Madsen-Østerbye
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, 0372 Oslo, Norway; (J.M.-Ø.); (M.A.)
- Department of Immunology and Transfusion Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, 0372 Oslo, Norway
| | - Mohamed Abdelhalim
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, 0372 Oslo, Norway; (J.M.-Ø.); (M.A.)
| | - Kamel Mamchaoui
- Sorbonne Université, Inserm, Institut de Myologie, Centre de Recherche en Myologie, 75013 Paris, France; (L.B.); (K.M.); (J.O.); (A.B.); (V.M.); (G.B.)
| | - Jessica Ohana
- Sorbonne Université, Inserm, Institut de Myologie, Centre de Recherche en Myologie, 75013 Paris, France; (L.B.); (K.M.); (J.O.); (A.B.); (V.M.); (G.B.)
| | - Anne Bigot
- Sorbonne Université, Inserm, Institut de Myologie, Centre de Recherche en Myologie, 75013 Paris, France; (L.B.); (K.M.); (J.O.); (A.B.); (V.M.); (G.B.)
| | - Vincent Mouly
- Sorbonne Université, Inserm, Institut de Myologie, Centre de Recherche en Myologie, 75013 Paris, France; (L.B.); (K.M.); (J.O.); (A.B.); (V.M.); (G.B.)
| | - Gisèle Bonne
- Sorbonne Université, Inserm, Institut de Myologie, Centre de Recherche en Myologie, 75013 Paris, France; (L.B.); (K.M.); (J.O.); (A.B.); (V.M.); (G.B.)
| | - Anne T. Bertrand
- Sorbonne Université, Inserm, Institut de Myologie, Centre de Recherche en Myologie, 75013 Paris, France; (L.B.); (K.M.); (J.O.); (A.B.); (V.M.); (G.B.)
| | - Philippe Collas
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, 0372 Oslo, Norway; (J.M.-Ø.); (M.A.)
- Department of Immunology and Transfusion Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, 0372 Oslo, Norway
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Martyniak A, Jeż M, Dulak J, Stępniewski J. Adaptation of cardiomyogenesis to the generation and maturation of cardiomyocytes from human pluripotent stem cells. IUBMB Life 2023; 75:8-29. [PMID: 36263833 DOI: 10.1002/iub.2685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2022] [Accepted: 10/05/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
The advent of methods for efficient generation and cardiac differentiation of pluripotent stem cells opened new avenues for disease modelling, drug testing, and cell therapies of the heart. However, cardiomyocytes (CM) obtained from such cells demonstrate an immature, foetal-like phenotype that involves spontaneous contractions, irregular morphology, expression of embryonic isoforms of sarcomere components, and low level of ion channels. These and other features may affect cellular response to putative therapeutic compounds and the efficient integration into the host myocardium after in vivo delivery. Therefore, novel strategies to increase the maturity of pluripotent stem cell-derived CM are of utmost importance. Several approaches have already been developed relying on molecular changes that occur during foetal and postnatal maturation of the heart, its electromechanical activity, and the cellular composition. As a better understanding of these determinants may facilitate the generation of efficient protocols for in vitro acquisition of an adult-like phenotype by immature CM, this review summarizes the most important molecular factors that govern CM during embryonic development, postnatal changes that trigger heart maturation, as well as protocols that are currently used to generate mature pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alicja Martyniak
- Department of Medical Biotechnology, Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
| | - Mateusz Jeż
- Department of Medical Biotechnology, Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
| | - Józef Dulak
- Department of Medical Biotechnology, Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
| | - Jacek Stępniewski
- Department of Medical Biotechnology, Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
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Shao J, Liu J, Zuo S. Roles of Epigenetics in Cardiac Fibroblast Activation and Fibrosis. Cells 2022; 11:cells11152347. [PMID: 35954191 PMCID: PMC9367448 DOI: 10.3390/cells11152347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2022] [Revised: 07/22/2022] [Accepted: 07/27/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Cardiac fibrosis is a common pathophysiologic process associated with numerous cardiovascular diseases, resulting in cardiac dysfunction. Cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) play an important role in the production of the extracellular matrix and are the essential cell type in a quiescent state in a healthy heart. In response to diverse pathologic stress and environmental stress, resident CFs convert to activated fibroblasts, referred to as myofibroblasts, which produce more extracellular matrix, contributing to cardiac fibrosis. Although multiple molecular mechanisms are implicated in CFs activation and cardiac fibrosis, there is increasing evidence that epigenetic regulation plays a key role in this process. Epigenetics is a rapidly growing field in biology, and provides a modulated link between pathological stimuli and gene expression profiles, ultimately leading to corresponding pathological changes. Epigenetic modifications are mainly composed of three main categories: DNA methylation, histone modifications, and non-coding RNAs. This review focuses on recent advances regarding epigenetic regulation in cardiac fibrosis and highlights the effects of epigenetic modifications on CFs activation. Finally, we provide some perspectives and prospects for the study of epigenetic modifications and cardiac fibrosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingrong Shao
- The Province and Ministry Co-Sponsored Collaborative Innovation Center for Medical Epigenetics, Tianjin Key Laboratory on Technologies Enabling Development of Clinical Therapeutics and Diagnostics, School of Pharmacy, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin 300070, China;
| | - Jiao Liu
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Inflammatory Biology, Department of Pharmacology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin 300070, China;
| | - Shengkai Zuo
- The Province and Ministry Co-Sponsored Collaborative Innovation Center for Medical Epigenetics, Tianjin Key Laboratory on Technologies Enabling Development of Clinical Therapeutics and Diagnostics, School of Pharmacy, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin 300070, China;
- Correspondence:
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Testore D, Zoso A, Kortaberria G, Sangermano M, Chiono V. Electroconductive Photo-Curable PEGDA-Gelatin/PEDOT:PSS Hydrogels for Prospective Cardiac Tissue Engineering Application. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2022; 10:897575. [PMID: 35814009 PMCID: PMC9263513 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2022.897575] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2022] [Accepted: 06/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Electroconductive hydrogels (ECHs) have attracted interest for tissue engineering applications due to their ability to promote the regeneration of electroactive tissues. Hence, ECHs with tunable electrical and mechanical properties, bioactivity, biocompatibility and biodegradability are demanded. In this work, ECHs based on photo-crosslinked blends of polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEGDA) and gelatin with different PEGDA:gelatin ratios (1:1, 1.5:1 and 2:1 wt./wt.), and containing poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly (styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) (0.0, 0.1, 0,3 and 0.5% w/v%) were prepared. Main novelty was the use of gelatin as bioactive component and co-initiator in the photo-crosslinking process, leading to its successful incorporation in the hydrogel network. Physical properties could be modulated by the initial PEGDA:gelatin weight ratio. Pristine hydrogels with increasing PEGDA:gelatin ratio showed: (i) an increasing compressive elastic modulus from 5 to 28 kPa; (ii) a decreasing weight loss from 62% to 43% after 2 weeks incubation in phosphate buffered saline at 37°C; (iii) reduced crosslinking time; (iv) higher crosslinking density and (v) lower water absorption. The addition of PEDOT:PSS in the hydrogels reduced photo-crosslinking time (from 60 to 10 s) increasing their surface and bulk electrical properties. Finally, in vitro tests with human cardiac fibroblasts showed that hydrogels were cytocompatible and samples with 1.5:1 initial PEGDA:gelatin ratio promoted the highest cell adhesion at 24 h. Results from this work suggested the potential of electroconductive photo-curable PEGDA-gelatin/PEDOT:PSS hydrogels for prospective cardiac tissue engineering applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniele Testore
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, Turin, Italy
| | - Alice Zoso
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, Turin, Italy
| | - Galder Kortaberria
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Donostia, Spain
| | - Marco Sangermano
- Department of Applied Science and Technology, Politecnico di Torino, Turin, Italy
| | - Valeria Chiono
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, Turin, Italy
- *Correspondence: Valeria Chiono,
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Paoletti C, Marcello E, Melis ML, Divieto C, Nurzynska D, Chiono V. Cardiac Tissue-like 3D Microenvironment Enhances Route towards Human Fibroblast Direct Reprogramming into Induced Cardiomyocytes by microRNAs. Cells 2022; 11:cells11050800. [PMID: 35269422 PMCID: PMC8909733 DOI: 10.3390/cells11050800] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2021] [Revised: 02/17/2022] [Accepted: 02/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The restoration of cardiac functionality after myocardial infarction represents a major clinical challenge. Recently, we found that transient transfection with microRNA combination (miRcombo: miR-1, miR-133, miR-208 and 499) is able to trigger direct reprogramming of adult human cardiac fibroblasts (AHCFs) into induced cardiomyocytes (iCMs) in vitro. However, achieving efficient direct reprogramming still remains a challenge. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of cardiac tissue-like biochemical and biophysical stimuli on direct reprogramming efficiency. Biomatrix (BM), a cardiac-like extracellular matrix (ECM), was produced by in vitro culture of AHCFs for 21 days, followed by decellularization. In a set of experiments, AHCFs were transfected with miRcombo and then cultured for 2 weeks on the surface of uncoated and BM-coated polystyrene (PS) dishes and fibrin hydrogels (2D hydrogel) or embedded into 3D fibrin hydrogels (3D hydrogel). Cell culturing on BM-coated PS dishes and in 3D hydrogels significantly improved direct reprogramming outcomes. Biochemical and biophysical cues were then combined in 3D fibrin hydrogels containing BM (3D BM hydrogel), resulting in a synergistic effect, triggering increased CM gene and cardiac troponin T expression in miRcombo-transfected AHCFs. Hence, biomimetic 3D culture environments may improve direct reprogramming of miRcombo-transfected AHCFs into iCMs, deserving further study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camilla Paoletti
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Turin, Italy; (E.M.); (M.L.M.); (V.C.)
- Centro 3R (Interuniversity Center for the Promotion of 3Rs Principles in Teaching and Research), Lucio Lazzarino 1, 56122 Pisa, Italy
- Correspondence:
| | - Elena Marcello
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Turin, Italy; (E.M.); (M.L.M.); (V.C.)
- Centro 3R (Interuniversity Center for the Promotion of 3Rs Principles in Teaching and Research), Lucio Lazzarino 1, 56122 Pisa, Italy
| | - Maria Luna Melis
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Turin, Italy; (E.M.); (M.L.M.); (V.C.)
- Centro 3R (Interuniversity Center for the Promotion of 3Rs Principles in Teaching and Research), Lucio Lazzarino 1, 56122 Pisa, Italy
| | - Carla Divieto
- Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica, Division of Advanced Materials and Life Sciences, 10135 Turin, Italy;
| | - Daria Nurzynska
- Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry “Scuola Medica Salernitana”, 84084 Salerno, Italy;
| | - Valeria Chiono
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Turin, Italy; (E.M.); (M.L.M.); (V.C.)
- Centro 3R (Interuniversity Center for the Promotion of 3Rs Principles in Teaching and Research), Lucio Lazzarino 1, 56122 Pisa, Italy
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