Low-dose Bisphenol A exposure alters the functionality and cellular environment in a human cardiomyocyte model

Use of cardiac cell cultures from salmonids to measure the cardiotoxic effect of environmental pollutants

Environmental stressors such as micro- and nanosized plastic particles (MNPs) or crude oil have a detrimental effect on aquatic animals; however, the impact upon the cardiovascular system of fish remains relatively under-researched. This study presents a novel approach for investigating the effect of crude oil and MNPs on the cardiac system of fish. We used salmonid larvae and cardiac cell cultures derived from hearts of salmonid fish and exposed them to environmental stressors. Following exposure to plastic particles or crude oil, the larvae exhibited some variation in contraction rate. In contrast, significant alterations in the contraction rate were observed in all cardiac cell cultures. The greatest differences between the control and treatment groups were observed in cardiac cell cultures derived from older brown trout. Following 7 days of exposure to MNPs or crude oil in Atlantic salmon larval hearts or cardiac cell cultures, there were only minor responses noted in mRNA expression of the selected marker genes. These findings show the use of a novel in vitro technique contributing to the existing body of knowledge on the impact of MNPs and crude oil on the cardiovascular system of salmonids and the associated risk.

Efficient derivation of functional astrocytes from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs)

Astrocytes are specialized glial cell types of the central nervous system (CNS) with remarkably high abundance, morphological and functional diversity. Astrocytes maintain neural metabolic support, synapse regulation, blood-brain barrier integrity and immunological homeostasis through intricate interactions with other cells, including neurons, microglia, pericytes and lymphocytes. Due to their extensive intercellular crosstalks, astrocytes are also implicated in the pathogenesis of CNS disorders, such as ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease. Despite the critical importance of astrocytes in neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation are recognized, the lack of suitable in vitro systems limits their availability for modeling human brain pathologies. Here, we report the time-efficient, reproducible generation of astrocytes from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs). Our hiPSC-derived astrocytes expressed characteristic astrocyte markers, such as GFAP, S100b, ALDH1L1 and AQP4. Furthermore, hiPSC-derived astrocytes displayed spontaneous calcium transients and responded to inflammatory stimuli by the secretion of type A1 and type A2 astrocyte-related cytokines.

Identification of Estrogen-Responsive Proteins in Mouse Seminal Vesicles Through Mass Spectrometry-Based Proteomics

Background: Although estrogenic compounds promise therapeutic potential in treating various conditions, concerns regarding their endocrine-disrupting effects have been raised. Current methodologies for screening estrogenicity in rodent models are limited to the female-specific uterotrophic bioassay. Studies have reported enlargement of the seminal vesicles in orchiectomized males treated with estrogens. However, identifying estrogenicity strictly through changes in wet weights is uninformative regarding the molecular mechanisms of these agents. Therefore, protein-based biomarkers can complement and improve the sensitivity of weight-based assessments. To this end, we present a discovery-driven proteomic analysis of 17β-estradiol's effects on the seminal vesicles. Methods: We treated orchidectomized mice with the hormone for five days and used the vehicle-treated group as a control. Seminal vesicles were analyzed by shotgun approach using data-dependent nanoflow liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and label-free quantification. Proteins found to be differentially expressed between the two groups were processed through a bioinformatics pipeline focusing on pathway analyses and assembly of protein interaction networks. Results: Out of 668 identified proteins that passed rigorous validation criteria, 133 were regulated significantly by 17β-estradiol. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis® linked them to several hormone-affected pathways, including those associated with immune function such as neutrophil degranulation. The altered protein interaction networks were also related to functions including endocrine disruption, abnormal metabolism, and therapeutic effects. Conclusions: We identified several potential biomarkers for estrogenicity in mouse seminal vesicles, many of them not previously linked with exogenous 17β-estradiol exposure.

The Current State of Realistic Heart Models for Disease Modelling and Cardiotoxicity

One of the many unresolved obstacles in the field of cardiovascular research is an uncompromising in vitro cardiac model. While primary cell sources from animal models offer both advantages and disadvantages, efforts over the past half-century have aimed to reduce their use. Additionally, obtaining a sufficient quantity of human primary cardiomyocytes faces ethical and legal challenges. As the practically unlimited source of human cardiomyocytes from induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC-CM) is now mostly resolved, there are great efforts to improve their quality and applicability by overcoming their intrinsic limitations. The greatest bottleneck in the field is the in vitro ageing of hiPSC-CMs to reach a maturity status that closely resembles that of the adult heart, thereby allowing for more appropriate drug developmental procedures as there is a clear correlation between ageing and developing cardiovascular diseases. Here, we review the current state-of-the-art techniques in the most realistic heart models used in disease modelling and toxicity evaluations from hiPSC-CM maturation through heart-on-a-chip platforms and in silico models to the in vitro models of certain cardiovascular diseases.

Uncovering Novel Extracellular Matrix Transcriptome Alterations in Lesions of Multiple Sclerosis

The extracellular matrix (ECM) of the central nervous system (CNS) is an interconnected network of proteins and sugars with critical roles in both homeostasis and disease. In neurological diseases, excessive ECM deposition and remodeling impact both injury and repair. CNS lesions of multiple sclerosis (MS), a chronic inflammatory and degenerative disease, cause prominent alterations of the ECM. However, there are a lack of data investigating how the multitude of ECM members change in relation to each other and how this affects the MS disease course. Here, we evaluated ECM changes in MS lesions compared to a control brain using databases generated in-house through spatial mRNA-sequencing and through a public resource of single-nucleus RNA sequencing previously published by Absinta and colleagues. These results underline the importance of publicly available datasets to find new targets of interest, such as the ECM. Both spatial and public datasets demonstrated widespread changes in ECM molecules and their interacting proteins, including alterations to proteoglycans and glycoproteins within MS lesions. Some of the altered ECM members have been described in MS, but other highly upregulated members, including the SPARC family of proteins, have not previously been highlighted. SPARC family members are upregulated in other conditions by reactive astrocytes and may influence immune cell activation and MS disease course. The profound changes to the ECM in MS lesions deserve more scrutiny as they impact neuroinflammation, injury, and repair.