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Selgrade DF, Fullenkamp DE, Chychula IA, Li B, Dellefave-Castillo L, Dubash AD, Ohiri J, Monroe TO, Blancard M, Tomar G, Holgren C, Burridge PW, George AL, Demonbreun AR, Puckelwartz MJ, George SA, Efimov IR, Green KJ, McNally EM. Susceptibility to innate immune activation in genetically mediated myocarditis. J Clin Invest 2024; 134:e180254. [PMID: 38768074 PMCID: PMC11213508 DOI: 10.1172/jci180254] [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: 02/12/2024] [Accepted: 05/07/2024] [Indexed: 05/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Myocarditis is clinically characterized by chest pain, arrhythmias, and heart failure, and treatment is often supportive. Mutations in DSP, a gene encoding the desmosomal protein desmoplakin, have been increasingly implicated in myocarditis. To model DSP-associated myocarditis and assess the role of innate immunity, we generated engineered heart tissues (EHTs) using human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) from patients with heterozygous DSP truncating variants (DSPtvs) and a gene-edited homozygous deletion cell line (DSP-/-). At baseline, DSP-/- EHTs displayed a transcriptomic signature of innate immune activation, which was mirrored by cytokine release. Importantly, DSP-/- EHTs were hypersensitive to Toll-like receptor (TLR) stimulation, demonstrating more contractile dysfunction compared with isogenic controls. Relative to DSP-/- EHTs, heterozygous DSPtv EHTs had less functional impairment. DSPtv EHTs displayed heightened sensitivity to TLR stimulation, and when subjected to strain, DSPtv EHTs developed functional deficits, indicating reduced contractile reserve compared with healthy controls. Colchicine or NF-κB inhibitors improved strain-induced force deficits in DSPtv EHTs. Genomic correction of DSP p.R1951X using adenine base editing reduced inflammatory biomarker release from EHTs. Thus, EHTs replicate electrical and contractile phenotypes seen in human myocarditis, implicating cytokine release as a key part of the myogenic susceptibility to inflammation. The heightened innate immune activation and sensitivity are targets for clinical intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Dominic E. Fullenkamp
- Center for Genetic Medicine and
- Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute, Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | | | - Binjie Li
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Lisa Dellefave-Castillo
- Center for Genetic Medicine and
- Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute, Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Adi D. Dubash
- Department of Biology, Furman University, Greenville, South Carolina, USA
- Department of Pathology
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Sharon A. George
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Igor R. Efimov
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Kathleen J. Green
- Department of Pathology
- Department of Dermatology, and
- R.H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Elizabeth M. McNally
- Center for Genetic Medicine and
- Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute, Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA
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Babini H, Jiménez-Sábado V, Stogova E, Arslanova A, Butt M, Dababneh S, Asghari P, Moore EDW, Claydon TW, Chiamvimonvat N, Hove-Madsen L, Tibbits GF. hiPSC-derived cardiomyocytes as a model to study the role of small-conductance Ca 2+-activated K + (SK) ion channel variants associated with atrial fibrillation. Front Cell Dev Biol 2024; 12:1298007. [PMID: 38304423 PMCID: PMC10830749 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2024.1298007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2023] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 02/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Atrial fibrillation (AF), the most common arrhythmia, has been associated with different electrophysiological, molecular, and structural alterations in atrial cardiomyocytes. Therefore, more studies are required to elucidate the genetic and molecular basis of AF. Various genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have strongly associated different single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with AF. One of these GWAS identified the rs13376333 risk SNP as the most significant one from the 1q21 chromosomal region. The rs13376333 risk SNP is intronic to the KCNN3 gene that encodes for small conductance calcium-activated potassium channels type 3 (SK3). However, the functional electrophysiological effects of this variant are not known. SK channels represent a unique family of K+ channels, primarily regulated by cytosolic Ca2+ concentration, and different studies support their critical role in the regulation of atrial excitability and consequently in the development of arrhythmias like AF. Since different studies have shown that both upregulation and downregulation of SK3 channels can lead to arrhythmias by different mechanisms, an important goal is to elucidate whether the rs13376333 risk SNP is a gain-of-function (GoF) or a loss-of-function (LoF) variant. A better understanding of the functional consequences associated with these SNPs could influence clinical practice guidelines by improving genotype-based risk stratification and personalized treatment. Although research using native human atrial cardiomyocytes and animal models has provided useful insights, each model has its limitations. Therefore, there is a critical need to develop a human-derived model that represents human physiology more accurately than existing animal models. In this context, research with human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) and subsequent generation of cardiomyocytes derived from hiPSC (hiPSC-CMs) has revealed the underlying causes of various cardiovascular diseases and identified treatment opportunities that were not possible using in vitro or in vivo studies with animal models. Thus, the ability to generate atrial cardiomyocytes and atrial tissue derived from hiPSCs from human/patients with specific genetic diseases, incorporating novel genetic editing tools to generate isogenic controls and organelle-specific reporters, and 3D bioprinting of atrial tissue could be essential to study AF pathophysiological mechanisms. In this review, we will first give an overview of SK-channel function, its role in atrial fibrillation and outline pathophysiological mechanisms of KCNN3 risk SNPs. We will then highlight the advantages of using the hiPSC-CM model to investigate SNPs associated with AF, while addressing limitations and best practices for rigorous hiPSC studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hosna Babini
- Cellular and Regenerative Medicine Centre, BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
| | - Verónica Jiménez-Sábado
- Cellular and Regenerative Medicine Centre, BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
- IIB SANT PAU, and CIBERCV, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Ekaterina Stogova
- Cellular and Regenerative Medicine Centre, BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
| | - Alia Arslanova
- Cellular and Regenerative Medicine Centre, BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
| | - Mariam Butt
- Cellular and Regenerative Medicine Centre, BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
| | - Saif Dababneh
- Cellular and Regenerative Medicine Centre, BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Parisa Asghari
- Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Edwin D. W. Moore
- Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Thomas W. Claydon
- Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
| | | | - Leif Hove-Madsen
- IIB SANT PAU, and CIBERCV, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas de Barcelona (IIBB-CSIC), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Glen F. Tibbits
- Cellular and Regenerative Medicine Centre, BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
- Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
- School of Biomedical Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
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