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Kriedemann N, Triebert W, Teske J, Mertens M, Franke A, Ullmann K, Manstein F, Drakhlis L, Haase A, Halloin C, Martin U, Zweigerdt R. Standardized production of hPSC-derived cardiomyocyte aggregates in stirred spinner flasks. Nat Protoc 2024; 19:1911-1939. [PMID: 38548938 DOI: 10.1038/s41596-024-00976-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2023] [Accepted: 01/17/2024] [Indexed: 07/10/2024]
Abstract
A promising cell-therapy approach for heart failure aims at differentiating human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) into functional cardiomyocytes (CMs) in vitro to replace the disease-induced loss of patients' heart muscle cells in vivo. But many challenges remain for the routine clinical application of hPSC-derived CMs (hPSC-CMs), including good manufacturing practice (GMP)-compliant production strategies. This protocol describes the efficient generation of hPSC-CM aggregates in suspension culture, emphasizing process simplicity, robustness and GMP compliance. The strategy promotes clinical translation and other applications that require large numbers of CMs. Using a simple spinner-flask platform, this protocol is applicable to a broad range of users with general experience in handling hPSCs without extensive know-how in biotechnology. hPSCs are expanded in monolayer to generate the required cell numbers for process inoculation in suspension culture, followed by stirring-controlled formation of cell-only aggregates at a 300-ml scale. After 48 h at checkpoint (CP) 0, chemically defined cardiac differentiation is induced by WNT-pathway modulation through use of the glycogen-synthase kinase-3 inhibitor CHIR99021 (WNT agonist), which is replaced 24 h later by the chemical WNT-pathway inhibitor IWP-2. The exact application of the described process parameters is important to ensure process efficiency and robustness. After 10 d of differentiation (CP I), the production of ≥100 × 106 CMs is expected. Moreover, to 'uncouple' cell production from downstream applications, continuous maintenance of CM aggregates for up to 35 d in culture (CP II) is demonstrated without a reduction in CM content, supporting downstream logistics while potentially overcoming the requirement for cryopreservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nils Kriedemann
- Department of Cardiothoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery (HTTG), Leibniz Research Laboratories for Biotechnology and Artificial Organs (LEBAO); REBIRTH-Research Center for Translational Regenerative Medicine; Hannover Medical School (MHH), Hannover, Germany.
| | - Wiebke Triebert
- Department of Cardiothoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery (HTTG), Leibniz Research Laboratories for Biotechnology and Artificial Organs (LEBAO); REBIRTH-Research Center for Translational Regenerative Medicine; Hannover Medical School (MHH), Hannover, Germany
- Evotec, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Jana Teske
- Department of Cardiothoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery (HTTG), Leibniz Research Laboratories for Biotechnology and Artificial Organs (LEBAO); REBIRTH-Research Center for Translational Regenerative Medicine; Hannover Medical School (MHH), Hannover, Germany
| | - Mira Mertens
- Department of Cardiothoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery (HTTG), Leibniz Research Laboratories for Biotechnology and Artificial Organs (LEBAO); REBIRTH-Research Center for Translational Regenerative Medicine; Hannover Medical School (MHH), Hannover, Germany
| | - Annika Franke
- Department of Cardiothoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery (HTTG), Leibniz Research Laboratories for Biotechnology and Artificial Organs (LEBAO); REBIRTH-Research Center for Translational Regenerative Medicine; Hannover Medical School (MHH), Hannover, Germany
| | - Kevin Ullmann
- Department of Cardiothoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery (HTTG), Leibniz Research Laboratories for Biotechnology and Artificial Organs (LEBAO); REBIRTH-Research Center for Translational Regenerative Medicine; Hannover Medical School (MHH), Hannover, Germany
| | - Felix Manstein
- Department of Cardiothoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery (HTTG), Leibniz Research Laboratories for Biotechnology and Artificial Organs (LEBAO); REBIRTH-Research Center for Translational Regenerative Medicine; Hannover Medical School (MHH), Hannover, Germany
- Evotec, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Lika Drakhlis
- Department of Cardiothoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery (HTTG), Leibniz Research Laboratories for Biotechnology and Artificial Organs (LEBAO); REBIRTH-Research Center for Translational Regenerative Medicine; Hannover Medical School (MHH), Hannover, Germany
| | - Alexandra Haase
- Department of Cardiothoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery (HTTG), Leibniz Research Laboratories for Biotechnology and Artificial Organs (LEBAO); REBIRTH-Research Center for Translational Regenerative Medicine; Hannover Medical School (MHH), Hannover, Germany
| | - Caroline Halloin
- Department of Cardiothoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery (HTTG), Leibniz Research Laboratories for Biotechnology and Artificial Organs (LEBAO); REBIRTH-Research Center for Translational Regenerative Medicine; Hannover Medical School (MHH), Hannover, Germany
- Department of Cell Therapy Process Technology, Novo Nordisk, Måløv, Denmark
| | - Ulrich Martin
- Department of Cardiothoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery (HTTG), Leibniz Research Laboratories for Biotechnology and Artificial Organs (LEBAO); REBIRTH-Research Center for Translational Regenerative Medicine; Hannover Medical School (MHH), Hannover, Germany
| | - Robert Zweigerdt
- Department of Cardiothoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery (HTTG), Leibniz Research Laboratories for Biotechnology and Artificial Organs (LEBAO); REBIRTH-Research Center for Translational Regenerative Medicine; Hannover Medical School (MHH), Hannover, Germany.
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Andrée B, Voß N, Kriedemann N, Triebert W, Teske J, Mertens M, Witte M, Szádocka S, Hilfiker A, Aper T, Gruh I, Zweigerdt R. Fabrication of heart tubes from iPSC derived cardiomyocytes and human fibrinogen by rotating mold technology. Sci Rep 2024; 14:13174. [PMID: 38849457 PMCID: PMC11161509 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-64022-7] [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: 03/06/2024] [Accepted: 06/04/2024] [Indexed: 06/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Due to its structural and functional complexity the heart imposes immense physical, physiological and electromechanical challenges on the engineering of a biological replacement. Therefore, to come closer to clinical translation, the development of a simpler biological assist device is requested. Here, we demonstrate the fabrication of tubular cardiac constructs with substantial dimensions of 6 cm in length and 11 mm in diameter by combining human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CMs) and human foreskin fibroblast (hFFs) in human fibrin employing a rotating mold technology. By centrifugal forces employed in the process a cell-dense layer was generated enabling a timely functional coupling of iPSC-CMs demonstrated by a transgenic calcium sensor, rhythmic tissue contractions, and responsiveness to electrical pacing. Adjusting the degree of remodeling as a function of hFF-content and inhibition of fibrinolysis resulted in stable tissue integrity for up to 5 weeks. The rotating mold device developed in frame of this work enabled the production of tubes with clinically relevant dimensions of up to 10 cm in length and 22 mm in diameter which-in combination with advanced bioreactor technology for controlled production of functional iPSC-derivatives-paves the way towards the clinical translation of a biological cardiac assist device.
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Affiliation(s)
- Birgit Andrée
- Leibniz Research Laboratories for Biotechnology and Artificial Organs (LEBAO), Department of Cardiothoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery, MHH-Hannover Medical School, Carl Neuberg Str. 1, 30625, Hannover, Germany.
| | - Nils Voß
- Leibniz Research Laboratories for Biotechnology and Artificial Organs (LEBAO), Department of Cardiothoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery, MHH-Hannover Medical School, Carl Neuberg Str. 1, 30625, Hannover, Germany
| | - Nils Kriedemann
- Leibniz Research Laboratories for Biotechnology and Artificial Organs (LEBAO), Department of Cardiothoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery, MHH-Hannover Medical School, Carl Neuberg Str. 1, 30625, Hannover, Germany
| | - Wiebke Triebert
- Leibniz Research Laboratories for Biotechnology and Artificial Organs (LEBAO), Department of Cardiothoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery, MHH-Hannover Medical School, Carl Neuberg Str. 1, 30625, Hannover, Germany
| | - Jana Teske
- Leibniz Research Laboratories for Biotechnology and Artificial Organs (LEBAO), Department of Cardiothoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery, MHH-Hannover Medical School, Carl Neuberg Str. 1, 30625, Hannover, Germany
| | - Mira Mertens
- Leibniz Research Laboratories for Biotechnology and Artificial Organs (LEBAO), Department of Cardiothoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery, MHH-Hannover Medical School, Carl Neuberg Str. 1, 30625, Hannover, Germany
| | - Merlin Witte
- Leibniz Research Laboratories for Biotechnology and Artificial Organs (LEBAO), Department of Cardiothoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery, MHH-Hannover Medical School, Carl Neuberg Str. 1, 30625, Hannover, Germany
| | - Sára Szádocka
- Leibniz Research Laboratories for Biotechnology and Artificial Organs (LEBAO), Department of Cardiothoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery, MHH-Hannover Medical School, Carl Neuberg Str. 1, 30625, Hannover, Germany
| | - Andres Hilfiker
- Leibniz Research Laboratories for Biotechnology and Artificial Organs (LEBAO), Department of Cardiothoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery, MHH-Hannover Medical School, Carl Neuberg Str. 1, 30625, Hannover, Germany
| | - Thomas Aper
- Leibniz Research Laboratories for Biotechnology and Artificial Organs (LEBAO), Department of Cardiothoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery, MHH-Hannover Medical School, Carl Neuberg Str. 1, 30625, Hannover, Germany
| | - Ina Gruh
- Leibniz Research Laboratories for Biotechnology and Artificial Organs (LEBAO), Department of Cardiothoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery, MHH-Hannover Medical School, Carl Neuberg Str. 1, 30625, Hannover, Germany
| | - Robert Zweigerdt
- Leibniz Research Laboratories for Biotechnology and Artificial Organs (LEBAO), Department of Cardiothoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery, MHH-Hannover Medical School, Carl Neuberg Str. 1, 30625, Hannover, Germany
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Pozo MR, Meredith GW, Entcheva E. Human iPSC-Cardiomyocytes as an Experimental Model to Study Epigenetic Modifiers of Electrophysiology. Cells 2022; 11:200. [PMID: 35053315 PMCID: PMC8774228 DOI: 10.3390/cells11020200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2021] [Revised: 12/31/2021] [Accepted: 01/01/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The epigenetic landscape and the responses to pharmacological epigenetic regulators in each human are unique. Classes of epigenetic writers and erasers, such as histone acetyltransferases, HATs, and histone deacetylases, HDACs, control DNA acetylation/deacetylation and chromatin accessibility, thus exerting transcriptional control in a tissue- and person-specific manner. Rapid development of novel pharmacological agents in clinical testing-HDAC inhibitors (HDACi)-targets these master regulators as common means of therapeutic intervention in cancer and immune diseases. The action of these epigenetic modulators is much less explored for cardiac tissue, yet all new drugs need to be tested for cardiotoxicity. To advance our understanding of chromatin regulation in the heart, and specifically how modulation of DNA acetylation state may affect functional electrophysiological responses, human-induced pluripotent stem-cell-derived cardiomyocyte (hiPSC-CM) technology can be leveraged as a scalable, high-throughput platform with ability to provide patient-specific insights. This review covers relevant background on the known roles of HATs and HDACs in the heart, the current state of HDACi development, applications, and any adverse cardiac events; it also summarizes relevant differential gene expression data for the adult human heart vs. hiPSC-CMs along with initial transcriptional and functional results from using this new experimental platform to yield insights on epigenetic control of the heart. We focus on the multitude of methodologies and workflows needed to quantify responses to HDACis in hiPSC-CMs. This overview can help highlight the power and the limitations of hiPSC-CMs as a scalable experimental model in capturing epigenetic responses relevant to the human heart.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Emilia Entcheva
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA; (M.R.P.); (G.W.M.)
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Polyak A, Bankstahl JP, Besecke KFW, Hozsa C, Triebert W, Pannem RR, Manstein F, Borcholte T, Furch M, Zweigerdt R, Gieseler RK, Bengel FM, Ross TL. Simplified 89Zr-Labeling Protocol of Oxine (8-Hydroxyquinoline) Enabling Prolonged Tracking of Liposome-Based Nanomedicines and Cells. Pharmaceutics 2021; 13:1097. [PMID: 34371788 PMCID: PMC8309181 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics13071097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2021] [Revised: 07/07/2021] [Accepted: 07/14/2021] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
In this work, a method for the preparation of the highly lipophilic labeling synthon [89Zr]Zr(oxinate)4 was optimized for the radiolabeling of liposomes and human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs). The aim was to establish a robust and reliable labeling protocol for enabling up to one week positron emission tomography (PET) tracing of lipid-based nanomedicines and transplanted or injected cells, respectively. [89Zr]Zr(oxinate)4 was prepared from oxine (8-hydroxyquinoline) and [89Zr]Zr(OH)2(C2O4). Earlier introduced liquid-liquid extraction methods were simplified by the optimization of buffering, pH, temperature and reaction times. For quality control, thin-layer chromatography (TLC), size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) and centrifugation were employed. Subsequently, the 89Zr-complex was incorporated into liposome formulations. PET/CT imaging of 89Zr-labeled liposomes was performed in healthy mice. Cell labeling was accomplished in PBS using suspensions of 3 × 106 hiPSCs, each. [89Zr]Zr(oxinate)4 was synthesized in very high radiochemical yields of 98.7% (96.8% ± 2.8%). Similarly, high internalization rates (≥90%) of [89Zr]Zr(oxinate)4 into liposomes were obtained over an 18 h incubation period. MicroPET and biodistribution studies confirmed the labeled nanocarriers' in vivo stability. Human iPSCs incorporated the labeling agent within 30 min with ~50% efficiency. Prolonged PET imaging is an ideal tool in the development of lipid-based nanocarriers for drug delivery and cell therapies. To this end, a reliable and reproducible 89Zr radiolabeling method was developed and tested successfully in a model liposome system and in hiPSCs alike.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andras Polyak
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany; (J.P.B.); (F.M.B.); (T.L.R.)
| | - Jens P. Bankstahl
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany; (J.P.B.); (F.M.B.); (T.L.R.)
| | - Karen F. W. Besecke
- Rodos Biotarget GmbH, Medical Park Hannover, 30625 Hannover, Germany; (K.F.W.B.); (C.H.); (R.R.P.); (T.B.); (M.F.); (R.K.G.)
- SolMic BioTech GmbH, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Constantin Hozsa
- Rodos Biotarget GmbH, Medical Park Hannover, 30625 Hannover, Germany; (K.F.W.B.); (C.H.); (R.R.P.); (T.B.); (M.F.); (R.K.G.)
| | - Wiebke Triebert
- Leibniz Research Laboratories for Biotechnology and Artificial Organs (LEBAO), 30625 Hannover, Germany; (W.T.); (F.M.); (R.Z.)
- Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery (HTTG), Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany
| | - Rajeswara Rao Pannem
- Rodos Biotarget GmbH, Medical Park Hannover, 30625 Hannover, Germany; (K.F.W.B.); (C.H.); (R.R.P.); (T.B.); (M.F.); (R.K.G.)
- Bioloving GmbH & Co KG, 69126 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Felix Manstein
- Leibniz Research Laboratories for Biotechnology and Artificial Organs (LEBAO), 30625 Hannover, Germany; (W.T.); (F.M.); (R.Z.)
- Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery (HTTG), Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany
| | - Thomas Borcholte
- Rodos Biotarget GmbH, Medical Park Hannover, 30625 Hannover, Germany; (K.F.W.B.); (C.H.); (R.R.P.); (T.B.); (M.F.); (R.K.G.)
| | - Marcus Furch
- Rodos Biotarget GmbH, Medical Park Hannover, 30625 Hannover, Germany; (K.F.W.B.); (C.H.); (R.R.P.); (T.B.); (M.F.); (R.K.G.)
- SolMic BioTech GmbH, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
- Bioloving GmbH & Co KG, 69126 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Robert Zweigerdt
- Leibniz Research Laboratories for Biotechnology and Artificial Organs (LEBAO), 30625 Hannover, Germany; (W.T.); (F.M.); (R.Z.)
- Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery (HTTG), Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany
| | - Robert K. Gieseler
- Rodos Biotarget GmbH, Medical Park Hannover, 30625 Hannover, Germany; (K.F.W.B.); (C.H.); (R.R.P.); (T.B.); (M.F.); (R.K.G.)
- Department of Internal Medicine, and Laboratory of Immunology & Molecular Biology, University Hospital, Knappschaftskrankenhaus, Ruhr University Bochum, 44801 Bochum, Germany
| | - Frank M. Bengel
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany; (J.P.B.); (F.M.B.); (T.L.R.)
| | - Tobias L. Ross
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany; (J.P.B.); (F.M.B.); (T.L.R.)
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