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Sun X, Jin K, Ding X, Ruan Z, Xu P. DNA methylation cooperates with H3K9me2 at HCN4 promoter to regulate the differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells into pacemaker-like cells. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0289510. [PMID: 37643180 PMCID: PMC10464974 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0289510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2023] [Accepted: 07/19/2023] [Indexed: 08/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Sick sinus syndrome (SSS) is a a life-threatening disease, and biological pacemakers derived from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) have practical clinical applications. Previous studies demonstrated that epigenetics plays an important role in the differentiation of BMSCs into pacemaker-like cells. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In the present study, we investigated the role of DNA methylation and histone methylation in pacemaker cells formation and found that changes in DNA and H3K9 methylation occur in the promoter region of the pacemaker cell-specific gene HCN4. In addition, the combined addition of methylation inhibitors was able to improve the efficiency of transduction of Tbx18 in inducing the differentiation of BMSCs into pacemaker-like cells. In vitro experiments have shown that inhibition of DNA methylation and H3K9 methylation can enhance the activity of the HCN4 promoter activity, and both can affect the binding of the transcription factor NKx2.5to the HCN4 promoter region. Further research on the interaction mechanism between DNA methylation and H3K9me2 in the HCN4 promoter region revealed that the two may be coupled, and that the methylesterase G9a and DNMT1 may directly interact to bind as a complex that affects DNA methylation and H3K9me2 regulation of HCN4 transcription. In conclusion, our studies suggest that the mutual coupling of DNA and H3K9 methylation plays a critical role in regulating the differentiation of BMSCs into pacemaker-like cells from the perspective of interactions between epigenetic modifications, and combined methylation is a promising strategy to optimise pacemaker-like cells for in vitro applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- XiaoLin Sun
- Department of Cardiology, The Affiliated Taizhou People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Taizhou, Jiangsu, The People’s Republic of China
| | - Kai Jin
- Department of Cardiology, The Affiliated Taizhou People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Taizhou, Jiangsu, The People’s Republic of China
| | - Xiangwei Ding
- Department of Cardiology, The Affiliated Taizhou People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Taizhou, Jiangsu, The People’s Republic of China
| | - Zhongbao Ruan
- Department of Cardiology, The Affiliated Taizhou People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Taizhou, Jiangsu, The People’s Republic of China
| | - Pei Xu
- Department of Haematology, The Affiliated Taizhou People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Taizhou, Jiangsu, The People’s Republic of China
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Sun X, Gu X, Li H, Xu P, Li M, Zhu Y, Zuo Q, Li B. H3K9me2 regulates early transcription factors to promote mesenchymal stem‑cell differentiation into cardiomyocytes. Mol Med Rep 2021; 24:616. [PMID: 34184085 DOI: 10.3892/mmr.2021.12255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2020] [Accepted: 05/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies have shown that histone H3 at lysine 9 (H3K9me2) is an important epigenetic modifier of embryonic development, cell reprogramming and cell differentiation, but its specific role in cardiomyocyte formation remains to be elucidated. The present study established a model of 5‑Azacytidine‑induced differentiation of rat bone mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) into cardiomyocytes and, on this basis, investigated the dimethylation of H3K9me2 and its effect on cardiomyocyte formation by knockdown of H3K9me2 methylase, euchromatic histone‑lysine N‑methyltransferase 2 (G9a) and H3K9me2 lysine demethylase 3A (KDM3A). The results demonstrated that, in comparison with the normal induction process, the knockdown of G9a could significantly reduce the H3K9me2 level of the MSCs in the induced model. Reverse transcription‑quantitative (RT‑q) PCR demonstrated that the expression of cardiac troponin T(cTnT) was significantly increased. In addition, flow cytometry demonstrated that the proportion of cTnT‑positive cells was significantly increased on day 21. With the knockdown of KDM3A, the opposite occurred. In order to explore the specific way of H3K9me2 regulating cardiomyocyte formation, western blotting and RT‑qPCR were used to detect the expression of key transcription factors including GATA binding protein 4 (GATA‑4), NK2 Homeobox 5 (Nkx2.5) and myocyte enhancer factor 2c (MEF2c) during cardiomyocyte formation. The decrease of H3K9me2 increased the expression of transcription factors GATA‑4, Nkx2.5 and MEF2c in the early stage of myocardial development while the increase of H3K9me2 inhibited the expression of those transcription factors. Accordingly, it was concluded that H3K9me2 is a negative regulator of cardiomyocyte formation and can participate in cardiomyocyte formation by activating or inhibiting key transcription factors of cardiomyocytes, which will lay the foundation for the optimized induction efficiency of cardiomyocytes in in vitro and clinical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaolin Sun
- Department of Cardiology, Institute of Translational Medicine, Medical College, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225001, P.R. China
| | - Xiang Gu
- Department of Cardiology, Institute of Translational Medicine, Medical College, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225001, P.R. China
| | - Hongxiao Li
- Department of Cardiology, Northern Jiangsu People's Hospital, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225001, P.R. China
| | - Pei Xu
- Department of Hematology, Taizhou People's Hospital, Taizhou, Jiangsu 225300, P.R. China
| | - Mengting Li
- Department of Cardiology, Institute of Translational Medicine, Medical College, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225001, P.R. China
| | - Ye Zhu
- Department of Cardiology, Northern Jiangsu People's Hospital, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225001, P.R. China
| | - Qisheng Zuo
- Key Laboratory of Animal Breeding and Molecular Design for Jiangsu Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225001, P.R. China
| | - Bichun Li
- Key Laboratory of Animal Breeding and Molecular Design for Jiangsu Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225001, P.R. China
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Liu N, Ye X, Yao B, Zhao M, Wu P, Liu G, Zhuang D, Jiang H, Chen X, He Y, Huang S, Zhu P. Advances in 3D bioprinting technology for cardiac tissue engineering and regeneration. Bioact Mater 2021; 6:1388-1401. [PMID: 33210031 PMCID: PMC7658327 DOI: 10.1016/j.bioactmat.2020.10.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2020] [Revised: 09/09/2020] [Accepted: 10/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Cardiovascular disease is still one of the leading causes of death in the world, and heart transplantation is the current major treatment for end-stage cardiovascular diseases. However, because of the shortage of heart donors, new sources of cardiac regenerative medicine are greatly needed. The prominent development of tissue engineering using bioactive materials has creatively laid a direct promising foundation. Whereas, how to precisely pattern a cardiac structure with complete biological function still requires technological breakthroughs. Recently, the emerging three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting technology for tissue engineering has shown great advantages in generating micro-scale cardiac tissues, which has established its impressive potential as a novel foundation for cardiovascular regeneration. Whether 3D bioprinted hearts can replace traditional heart transplantation as a novel strategy for treating cardiovascular diseases in the future is a frontier issue. In this review article, we emphasize the current knowledge and future perspectives regarding available bioinks, bioprinting strategies and the latest outcome progress in cardiac 3D bioprinting to move this promising medical approach towards potential clinical implementation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nanbo Liu
- Department of Cardiac Surgery, and Department of Medical Sciences, Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510100, China
| | - Xing Ye
- Department of Cardiac Surgery, and Department of Medical Sciences, Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510100, China
- Department of Cardiac Surgery, Affiliated South China Hospital, Southern Medical University (Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital) and The Second School of Clinical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510515, China
| | - Bin Yao
- Research Center for Tissue Repair and Regeneration affiliated to the Medical Innovation Research Department, PLA General Hospital and PLA Medical College, 28 Fu Xing Road, Beijing, 100853, China
| | - Mingyi Zhao
- Department of Cardiac Surgery, and Department of Medical Sciences, Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510100, China
| | - Peng Wu
- Department of Cardiac Surgery, and Department of Medical Sciences, Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510100, China
- Department of Cardiac Surgery, Affiliated South China Hospital, Southern Medical University (Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital) and The Second School of Clinical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510515, China
| | - Guihuan Liu
- Department of Cardiac Surgery, and Department of Medical Sciences, Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510100, China
- School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510006, China
| | - Donglin Zhuang
- Department of Cardiac Surgery, and Department of Medical Sciences, Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510100, China
| | - Haodong Jiang
- Department of Cardiac Surgery, and Department of Medical Sciences, Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510100, China
- School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510006, China
| | - Xiaowei Chen
- Department of Cardiac Surgery, and Department of Medical Sciences, Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510100, China
| | - Yinru He
- Department of Cardiac Surgery, and Department of Medical Sciences, Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510100, China
| | - Sha Huang
- Research Center for Tissue Repair and Regeneration affiliated to the Medical Innovation Research Department, PLA General Hospital and PLA Medical College, 28 Fu Xing Road, Beijing, 100853, China
| | - Ping Zhu
- Department of Cardiac Surgery, and Department of Medical Sciences, Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510100, China
- Department of Cardiac Surgery, Affiliated South China Hospital, Southern Medical University (Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital) and The Second School of Clinical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510515, China
- School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510006, China
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5-Azacytidine-Induced Cardiomyocyte Differentiation of Very Small Embryonic-Like Stem Cells. Stem Cells Int 2020; 2020:5162350. [PMID: 32963547 PMCID: PMC7495233 DOI: 10.1155/2020/5162350] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2020] [Revised: 05/29/2020] [Accepted: 06/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The use of stem cells in generating cell-based pacemaker therapies for bradyarrhythmia is currently being considered. Due to the propensity of stem cells to form tumors, as well as ethical issues surrounding their use, the seed cells used in cardiac biological pacemakers have limitations. Very small embryonic-like stem cells (VSELs) are a unique and rare adult stem cell population, which have the same structural, genetic, biochemical, and functional characteristics as embryonic stem cells without the ethical controversy. In this study, we investigated the ability of rat bone marrow- (BM-) derived VSELs to differentiate in vitro into cardiomyocytes by 5-Azacytidine (5-AzaC) treatment. The morphology of VSELs treated with 10 μM 5-AzaC increased in volume and gradually changed to cardiomyocyte-like morphology without massive cell death. Additionally, mRNA expression of the cardiomyocyte markers cardiac troponin-T (cTnT) and α-sarcomeric actin (α-actin) was significantly upregulated after 5-AzaC treatment. Conversely, stem cell markers such as Nanog, Oct-4, and Sox2 were continuously downregulated posttreatment. On day 14 post-5-AzaC treatment, the positive expression rates of cTnT and α-actin were 18.41 ± 1.51% and 19.43 ± 0.51%, respectively. Taken together, our results showed that rat BM-VSELs have the ability to differentiate into cardiomyocytes in vitro. These findings suggest that VSELs would be useful as seed cells in exploring the mechanism of biological pacemaker activity.
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