1
|
Al-Saadi J, Waldén M, Sandell M, Sohlmér J, Grankvist R, Friberger I, Andersson A, Carlsten M, Chien K, Lundberg J, Witman N, Holmin S. Endovascular transplantation of mRNA-enhanced mesenchymal stromal cells results in superior therapeutic protein expression in swine heart. Mol Ther Methods Clin Dev 2024; 32:101225. [PMID: 38516693 PMCID: PMC10950887 DOI: 10.1016/j.omtm.2024.101225] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2023] [Accepted: 02/23/2024] [Indexed: 03/23/2024]
Abstract
Heart failure has a poor prognosis and no curative treatment exists. Clinical trials are investigating gene- and cell-based therapies to improve cardiac function. The safe and efficient delivery of these therapies to solid organs is challenging. Herein, we demonstrate the feasibility of using an endovascular intramyocardial delivery approach to safely administer mRNA drug products and perform cell transplantation procedures in swine. Using a trans-vessel wall (TW) device, we delivered chemically modified mRNAs (modRNA) and mRNA-enhanced mesenchymal stromal cells expressing vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A) directly to the heart. We monitored and mapped the cellular distribution, protein expression, and safety tolerability of such an approach. The delivery of modRNA-enhanced cells via the TW device with different flow rates and cell concentrations marginally affect cell viability and protein expression in situ. Implanted cells were found within the myocardium for at least 3 days following administration, without the use of immunomodulation and minimal impact on tissue integrity. Finally, we could increase the protein expression of VEGF-A over 500-fold in the heart using a cell-mediated modRNA delivery system compared with modRNA delivered in saline solution. Ultimately, this method paves the way for future research to pioneer new treatments for cardiac disease.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan Al-Saadi
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Tomtebodavägen 18A, 171 65 Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Neuroradiology, Karolinska University Hospital, 171 64 Stockholm, Sweden
- MedTechLabs, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Mathias Waldén
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Tomtebodavägen 18A, 171 65 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Mikael Sandell
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Tomtebodavägen 18A, 171 65 Stockholm, Sweden
- MedTechLabs, Stockholm, Sweden
- Division of Micro and Nanosystems, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Malvinas väg 10, 114 28 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Jesper Sohlmér
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institute, Solnavägen 9, 171 65 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Rikard Grankvist
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Tomtebodavägen 18A, 171 65 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Ida Friberger
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Tomtebodavägen 18A, 171 65 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Agneta Andersson
- Department of Medicine, Huddinge, Center for Hematology and Regenerative Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Mattias Carlsten
- Department of Medicine, Huddinge, Center for Hematology and Regenerative Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Center for Cell Therapy and Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation, Karolinska Comprehensive Cancer Center, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Kenneth Chien
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institute, Solnavägen 9, 171 65 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Johan Lundberg
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Tomtebodavägen 18A, 171 65 Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Neuroradiology, Karolinska University Hospital, 171 64 Stockholm, Sweden
- MedTechLabs, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Nevin Witman
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Tomtebodavägen 18A, 171 65 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Staffan Holmin
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Tomtebodavägen 18A, 171 65 Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Neuroradiology, Karolinska University Hospital, 171 64 Stockholm, Sweden
- MedTechLabs, Stockholm, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Witman N, Zhou C, Häneke T, Xiao Y, Huang X, Rohner E, Sohlmér J, Grote Beverborg N, Lehtinen ML, Chien KR, Sahara M. Author Correction: Placental growth factor exerts a dual function for cardiomyogenesis and vasculogenesis during heart development. Nat Commun 2024; 15:283. [PMID: 38177121 PMCID: PMC10766948 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-44507-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2024] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Nevin Witman
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, A6 Biomedicum, SE-171 77, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Chikai Zhou
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, A6 Biomedicum, SE-171 77, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Timm Häneke
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, A6 Biomedicum, SE-171 77, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Yao Xiao
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, A6 Biomedicum, SE-171 77, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Xiaoting Huang
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, A6 Biomedicum, SE-171 77, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Eduarde Rohner
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, A6 Biomedicum, SE-171 77, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Jesper Sohlmér
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, A6 Biomedicum, SE-171 77, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Niels Grote Beverborg
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, A6 Biomedicum, SE-171 77, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Cardiology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Miia L Lehtinen
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, A6 Biomedicum, SE-171 77, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Cardiac Surgery, Heart and Lung Center, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Kenneth R Chien
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, A6 Biomedicum, SE-171 77, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Makoto Sahara
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, A6 Biomedicum, SE-171 77, Stockholm, Sweden.
- Department of Surgery, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CN, 06510, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Witman N, Zhou C, Häneke T, Xiao Y, Huang X, Rohner E, Sohlmér J, Grote Beverborg N, Lehtinen ML, Chien KR, Sahara M. Placental growth factor exerts a dual function for cardiomyogenesis and vasculogenesis during heart development. Nat Commun 2023; 14:5435. [PMID: 37669989 PMCID: PMC10480216 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41305-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2023] [Accepted: 08/30/2023] [Indexed: 09/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Cardiogenic growth factors play important roles in heart development. Placental growth factor (PLGF) has previously been reported to have angiogenic effects; however, its potential role in cardiogenesis has not yet been determined. We analyze single-cell RNA-sequencing data derived from human and primate embryonic hearts and find PLGF shows a biphasic expression pattern, as it is expressed specifically on ISL1+ second heart field progenitors at an earlier stage and on vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) and endothelial cells (ECs) at later stages. Using chemically modified mRNAs (modRNAs), we generate a panel of cardiogenic growth factors and test their effects on enhancing cardiomyocyte (CM) and EC induction during different stages of human embryonic stem cell (hESC) differentiations. We discover that only the application of PLGF modRNA at early time points of hESC-CM differentiation can increase both CM and EC production. Conversely, genetic deletion of PLGF reduces generation of CMs, SMCs and ECs in vitro. We also confirm in vivo beneficial effects of PLGF modRNA for development of human heart progenitor-derived cardiac muscle grafts on murine kidney capsules. Further, we identify the previously unrecognized PLGF-related transcriptional networks driven by EOMES and SOX17. These results shed light on the dual cardiomyogenic and vasculogenic effects of PLGF during heart development.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nevin Witman
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, A6 Biomedicum, SE-171 77, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Chikai Zhou
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, A6 Biomedicum, SE-171 77, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Timm Häneke
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, A6 Biomedicum, SE-171 77, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Yao Xiao
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, A6 Biomedicum, SE-171 77, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Xiaoting Huang
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, A6 Biomedicum, SE-171 77, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Eduarde Rohner
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, A6 Biomedicum, SE-171 77, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Jesper Sohlmér
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, A6 Biomedicum, SE-171 77, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Niels Grote Beverborg
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, A6 Biomedicum, SE-171 77, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Cardiology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Miia L Lehtinen
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, A6 Biomedicum, SE-171 77, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Cardiac Surgery, Heart and Lung Center, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Kenneth R Chien
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, A6 Biomedicum, SE-171 77, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Makoto Sahara
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, A6 Biomedicum, SE-171 77, Stockholm, Sweden.
- Department of Surgery, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CN, 06510, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Zhou C, Häneke T, Rohner E, Sohlmér J, Kameneva P, Artemov A, Adameyko I, Sahara M. STRA6 is essential for induction of vascular smooth muscle lineages in human embryonic cardiac outflow tract development. Cardiovasc Res 2023; 119:1202-1217. [PMID: 36635482 DOI: 10.1093/cvr/cvad010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2021] [Revised: 10/21/2022] [Accepted: 11/21/2022] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
AIMS Retinoic acid (RA) signaling is essential for heart development, and dysregulation of the RA signaling can cause several types of cardiac outflow tract (OFT) defects, the most frequent congenital heart disease (CHD) in humans. Matthew-Wood syndrome is caused by inactivating mutations of a transmembrane protein gene STRA6 that transports vitamin A (retinol) from extracellular into intracellular spaces. This syndrome shows a broad spectrum of malformations including CHD, although murine Stra6-null neonates did not exhibit overt heart defects. Thus, the detailed mechanisms by which STRA6 mutations could lead to cardiac malformations in humans remain unclear. Here, we investigated the role of STRA6 in the context of human cardiogenesis and CHD. METHODS AND RESULTS To gain molecular signatures in species-specific cardiac development, we first compared single-cell RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) datasets, uniquely obtained from human and murine embryonic hearts. We found that while STRA6 mRNA was much less frequently expressed in murine embryonic heart cells derived from the Mesp1+ lineage tracing mice (Mesp1Cre/+; Rosa26tdTomato), it was expressed predominantly in the OFT region-specific heart progenitors in human developing hearts. Next, we revealed that STRA6-knockout human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) could differentiate into cardiomyocytes similarly to wild-type hESCs, but could not differentiate properly into mesodermal nor neural crest cell-derived smooth muscle cells (SMCs) in vitro. This is supported by the population RNA-seq data showing downregulation of the SMC-related genes in the STRA6-knockout hESC-derived cells. Further, through machinery assays, we identified the previously unrecognized interaction between RA nuclear receptors RARα/RXRα and TBX1, an OFT-specific cardiogenic transcription factor, which would likely act downstream to STRA6-mediated RA signaling in human cardiogenesis. CONCLUSION Our study highlights a critical role of human-specific STRA6 progenitors for proper induction of vascular SMCs that is essential for normal OFT formation. Thus, these results shed light on novel and human-specific CHD mechanisms, driven by STRA6 mutations. TRANSLATIONAL PERSPECTIVES Dysregulation of the RA signaling can cause cardiac OFT defects, however, the detailed mechanisms by which STRA6 mutations lead to cardiac malformations have remained unclear. Our study highlights a critical role of human-specific STRA6 progenitors for proper induction of vascular SMCs that is essential for normal OFT formation. These results shed light on novel and human-specific CHD programs, driven by STRA6 mutations. Thus, our study paves the way for further studies of deciphering the origins and the disease mechanisms of a rare genetic disorder Matthew-Wood syndrome, which would help us develop diagnosis, prevention, and novel treatment for the disease.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Chikai Zhou
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Timm Häneke
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Eduarde Rohner
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Jesper Sohlmér
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Polina Kameneva
- Department of Neuroimmunology, Center for Brain Research, Medical University of Vienna, Austria
| | - Artem Artemov
- Department of Neuroimmunology, Center for Brain Research, Medical University of Vienna, Austria
| | - Igor Adameyko
- Department of Neuroimmunology, Center for Brain Research, Medical University of Vienna, Austria.,Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Makoto Sahara
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Surgery, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CN, USA
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Eroglu E, Yen CYT, Tsoi YL, Witman N, Elewa A, Joven Araus A, Wang H, Szattler T, Umeano CH, Sohlmér J, Goedel A, Simon A, Chien KR. Epicardium-derived cells organize through tight junctions to replenish cardiac muscle in salamanders. Nat Cell Biol 2022; 24:645-658. [PMID: 35550612 PMCID: PMC9106584 DOI: 10.1038/s41556-022-00902-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2021] [Accepted: 03/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The contribution of the epicardium, the outermost layer of the heart, to cardiac regeneration has remained controversial due to a lack of suitable analytical tools. By combining genetic marker-independent lineage-tracing strategies with transcriptional profiling and loss-of-function methods, we report here that the epicardium of the highly regenerative salamander species Pleurodeles waltl has an intrinsic capacity to differentiate into cardiomyocytes. Following cryoinjury, CLDN6+ epicardium-derived cells appear at the lesion site, organize into honeycomb-like structures connected via focal tight junctions and undergo transcriptional reprogramming that results in concomitant differentiation into de novo cardiomyocytes. Ablation of CLDN6+ differentiation intermediates as well as disruption of their tight junctions impairs cardiac regeneration. Salamanders constitute the evolutionarily closest species to mammals with an extensive ability to regenerate heart muscle and our results highlight the epicardium and tight junctions as key targets in efforts to promote cardiac regeneration.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Elif Eroglu
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Christopher Y T Yen
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Yat-Long Tsoi
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Nevin Witman
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Ahmed Elewa
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Genetics, Microbiology and Statistics, Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Alberto Joven Araus
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Heng Wang
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- College of Animal Sciences and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Tamara Szattler
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Chimezie H Umeano
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Molecular Medicine and Gene Therapy, Lunds Universitet, Lund, Sweden
| | - Jesper Sohlmér
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Alexander Goedel
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Klinik und Poliklinik für Innere Medizin I, Klinikum Rechts der Isar, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - András Simon
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Kenneth R Chien
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
- Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
| |
Collapse
|