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Butler K, Ahmed S, Jablonski J, Hookway TA. Engineered Cardiac Microtissue Biomanufacturing Using Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Derived Epicardial Cells. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.05.13.593960. [PMID: 38798424 PMCID: PMC11118268 DOI: 10.1101/2024.05.13.593960] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/29/2024]
Abstract
Epicardial cells are a crucial component in constructing in vitro 3D tissue models of the human heart, contributing to the ECM environment and the resident mesenchymal cell population. Studying the human epicardium and its development from the proepicardial organ is difficult, but induced pluripotent stem cells can provide a source of human epicardial cells for developmental modeling and for biomanufacturing heterotypic cardiac tissues. This study shows that a robust population of epicardial cells (approx. 87.7% WT1+) can be obtained by small molecule modulation of the Wnt signaling pathway. The population maintains WT1 expression and characteristic epithelial morphology over successive passaging, but increases in size and decreases in cell number, suggesting a limit to their expandability in vitro. Further, low passage number epicardial cells formed into more robust 3D microtissues compared to their higher passage counterparts, suggesting that the ideal time frame for use of these epicardial cells for tissue engineering and modeling purposes is early on in their differentiated state. Additionally, the differentiated epicardial cells displayed two distinct morphologic sub populations with a subset of larger, more migratory cells which led expansion of the epicardial cells across various extracellular matrix environments. When incorporated into a mixed 3D co-culture with cardiomyocytes, epicardial cells promoted greater remodeling and migration without impairing cardiomyocyte function. This study provides an important characterization of stem cell-derived epicardial cells, identifying key characteristics that influence their ability to fabricate consistent engineered cardiac tissues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kirk Butler
- Biomedical Engineering Department, Binghamton University, the State University of New York, Binghamton NY 13902
| | - Saif Ahmed
- Biomedical Engineering Department, Binghamton University, the State University of New York, Binghamton NY 13902
| | - Justin Jablonski
- Biomedical Engineering Department, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY14627
| | - Tracy A. Hookway
- Biomedical Engineering Department, Binghamton University, the State University of New York, Binghamton NY 13902
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Gastfriend BD, Snyder ME, Holt HE, Daneman R, Palecek SP, Shusta EV. Notch3 directs differentiation of brain mural cells from human pluripotent stem cell-derived neural crest. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadi1737. [PMID: 38306433 PMCID: PMC10836734 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adi1737] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2023] [Accepted: 01/04/2024] [Indexed: 02/04/2024]
Abstract
Brain mural cells regulate development and function of the blood-brain barrier and control blood flow. Existing in vitro models of human brain mural cells have low expression of key mural cell genes, including NOTCH3. Thus, we asked whether activation of Notch3 signaling in hPSC-derived neural crest could direct the differentiation of brain mural cells with an improved transcriptional profile. Overexpression of the Notch3 intracellular domain (N3ICD) induced expression of mural cell markers PDGFRβ, TBX2, FOXS1, KCNJ8, SLC6A12, and endogenous Notch3. The resulting N3ICD-derived brain mural cells produced extracellular matrix, self-assembled with endothelial cells, and had functional KATP channels. ChIP-seq revealed that Notch3 serves as a direct input to relatively few genes in the context of this differentiation process. Our work demonstrates that activation of Notch3 signaling is sufficient to direct the differentiation of neural crest to mural cells and establishes a developmentally relevant differentiation protocol.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin D Gastfriend
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Margaret E Snyder
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Hope E Holt
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Richard Daneman
- Departments of Neurosciences and Pharmacology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Sean P Palecek
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Eric V Shusta
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
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Kerr CM, Silver SE, Choi YS, Floy ME, Bradshaw AD, Cho SW, Palecek SP, Mei Y. Decellularized heart extracellular matrix alleviates activation of hiPSC-derived cardiac fibroblasts. Bioact Mater 2024; 31:463-474. [PMID: 37701451 PMCID: PMC10493503 DOI: 10.1016/j.bioactmat.2023.08.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2023] [Revised: 08/01/2023] [Accepted: 08/30/2023] [Indexed: 09/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Human induced pluripotent stem cell derived cardiac fibroblasts (hiPSC-CFs) play a critical role in modeling human cardiovascular diseases in vitro. However, current culture substrates used for hiPSC-CF differentiation and expansion, such as Matrigel and tissue culture plastic (TCPs), are tissue mismatched and may provide pathogenic cues. Here, we report that hiPSC-CFs differentiated on Matrigel and expanded on tissue culture plastic (M-TCP-iCFs) exhibit transcriptomic hallmarks of activated fibroblasts limiting their translational potential. To alleviate pathogenic activation of hiPSC-CFs, we utilized decellularized extracellular matrix derived from porcine heart extracellular matrix (HEM) to provide a biomimetic substrate for improving hiPSC-CF phenotypes. We show that hiPSC-CFs differentiated and expanded on HEM (HEM-iCFs) exhibited reduced expression of hallmark activated fibroblast markers versus M-TCP-iCFs while retaining their cardiac fibroblast phenotype. HEM-iCFs also maintained a reduction in expression of hallmark genes associated with pathogenic fibroblasts when seeded onto TCPs. Further, HEM-iCFs more homogenously integrated into an hiPSC-derived cardiac organoid model, resulting in improved cardiomyocyte sarcomere development. In conclusion, HEM provides an improved substrate for the differentiation and propagation of hiPSC-CFs for disease modeling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles M. Kerr
- Molecular Cell Biology and Pathobiology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | | | - Yi Sun Choi
- Department of Biotechnology, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Martha E. Floy
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Amy D. Bradshaw
- Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
- Ralph H. Johnson Veterans Affairs Medical Center, SC, USA
| | - Seung-Woo Cho
- Department of Biotechnology, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Sean P. Palecek
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Ying Mei
- Bioengineering Department, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA
- Department of Regenerative Medicine and Cell Biology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
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Schmuck EG, Roy S, Zhou T, Wille D, Reeves SM, Conklin J, Raval AN. Human left ventricular cardiac fibroblasts undergo a dynamic shift in secretome and gene expression toward a cardiac myofibroblast phenotype during early passage in typical culture expansion conditions. Cytotherapy 2024; 26:81-87. [PMID: 37930292 PMCID: PMC10841749 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcyt.2023.10.001] [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: 05/18/2023] [Revised: 09/22/2023] [Accepted: 10/05/2023] [Indexed: 11/07/2023]
Abstract
Cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) are critical components of the cardiac niche and primarily responsible for assembly and maintenance of the cardiac extracellular matrix (ECM). CFs are increasingly of interest for tissue engineering and drug development applications, as they provide synergistic support to cardiomyocytes through direct cell-to-cell signaling and cell-to-ECM interactions via soluble factors, including cytokines, growth factors and extracellular vesicles. CFs can be activated to a cardiac myofibroblast (CMF) phenotype upon injury or stimulation with transforming growth factor beta 1. Once activated, CMFs assemble collagen-rich ECM, which is vitally important to stabilize scar formation following myocardial infarction, for example. Although there is greater experience with culture expansion of CFs among non-human strains, very little is known about human CF-to-CMF transitions and expression patterns during culture expansion. In this study, we evaluated for shifts in inflammatory and angiogenic expression profiles of human CFs in typical culture expansion conditions. Understanding shifts in cellular expression patterns during CF culture expansion is critically important to establish quality benchmarks and optimize large-scale manufacturing for future clinical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric G Schmuck
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Sushmita Roy
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Tianhua Zhou
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Delani Wille
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Sophie Mixon Reeves
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - James Conklin
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Amish N Raval
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
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Floy ME, Shabnam F, Givens SE, Patil VA, Ding Y, Li G, Roy S, Raval AN, Schmuck EG, Masters KS, Ogle BM, Palecek SP. Identifying molecular and functional similarities and differences between human primary cardiac valve interstitial cells and ventricular fibroblasts. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2023; 11:1102487. [PMID: 37051268 PMCID: PMC10083504 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2023.1102487] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2022] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 03/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction: Fibroblasts are mesenchymal cells that predominantly produce and maintain the extracellular matrix (ECM) and are critical mediators of injury response. In the heart, valve interstitial cells (VICs) are a population of fibroblasts responsible for maintaining the structure and function of heart valves. These cells are regionally distinct from myocardial fibroblasts, including left ventricular cardiac fibroblasts (LVCFBs), which are located in the myocardium in close vicinity to cardiomyocytes. Here, we hypothesize these subpopulations of fibroblasts are transcriptionally and functionally distinct. Methods: To compare these fibroblast subtypes, we collected patient-matched samples of human primary VICs and LVCFBs and performed bulk RNA sequencing, extracellular matrix profiling, and functional contraction and calcification assays. Results: Here, we identified combined expression of SUSD2 on a protein-level, and MEOX2, EBF2 and RHOU at a transcript-level to be differentially expressed in VICs compared to LVCFBs and demonstrated that expression of these genes can be used to distinguish between the two subpopulations. We found both VICs and LVCFBs expressed similar activation and contraction potential in vitro, but VICs showed an increase in ALP activity when activated and higher expression in matricellular proteins, including cartilage oligomeric protein and alpha 2-Heremans-Schmid glycoprotein, both of which are reported to be linked to calcification, compared to LVCFBs. Conclusion: These comparative transcriptomic, proteomic, and functional studies shed novel insight into the similarities and differences between valve interstitial cells and left ventricular cardiac fibroblasts and will aid in understanding region-specific cardiac pathologies, distinguishing between primary subpopulations of fibroblasts, and generating region-specific stem-cell derived cardiac fibroblasts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martha E. Floy
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States
| | - Fathima Shabnam
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States
| | - Sophie E. Givens
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States
| | - Vaidehi A. Patil
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States
| | - Yunfeng Ding
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States
| | - Grace Li
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Sushmita Roy
- Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States
| | - Amish N. Raval
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States
- Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States
| | - Eric G. Schmuck
- Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States
| | - Kristyn S. Masters
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States
| | - Brenda M. Ogle
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States
- Stem Cell Institute, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States
| | - Sean P. Palecek
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States
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Moita MR, Silva MM, Diniz C, Serra M, Hoet RM, Barbas A, Simão D. Transcriptome and proteome profiling of activated cardiac fibroblasts supports target prioritization in cardiac fibrosis. Front Cardiovasc Med 2022; 9:1015473. [PMID: 36531712 PMCID: PMC9751336 DOI: 10.3389/fcvm.2022.1015473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2022] [Accepted: 11/15/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Activated cardiac fibroblasts (CF) play a central role in cardiac fibrosis, a condition associated with most cardiovascular diseases. Conversion of quiescent into activated CF sustains heart integrity upon injury. However, permanence of CF in active state inflicts deleterious heart function effects. Mechanisms underlying this cell state conversion are still not fully disclosed, contributing to a limited target space and lack of effective anti-fibrotic therapies. MATERIALS AND METHODS To prioritize targets for drug development, we studied CF remodeling upon activation at transcriptomic and proteomic levels, using three different cell sources: primary adult CF (aHCF), primary fetal CF (fHCF), and induced pluripotent stem cells derived CF (hiPSC-CF). RESULTS All cell sources showed a convergent response upon activation, with clear morphological and molecular remodeling associated with cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions. Quantitative proteomic analysis identified known cardiac fibrosis markers, such as FN1, CCN2, and Serpine1, but also revealed targets not previously associated with this condition, including MRC2, IGFBP7, and NT5DC2. CONCLUSION Exploring such targets to modulate CF phenotype represents a valuable opportunity for development of anti-fibrotic therapies. Also, we demonstrate that hiPSC-CF is a suitable cell source for preclinical research, displaying significantly lower basal activation level relative to primary cells, while being able to elicit a convergent response upon stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Raquel Moita
- iBET - Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica, Oeiras, Portugal
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Marta M. Silva
- iBET - Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica, Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Cláudia Diniz
- iBET - Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica, Oeiras, Portugal
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Margarida Serra
- iBET - Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica, Oeiras, Portugal
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Oeiras, Portugal
| | - René M. Hoet
- Department of Pathology, CARIM - School of Cardiovascular Diseases, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
| | | | - Daniel Simão
- iBET - Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica, Oeiras, Portugal
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Floy ME, Shabnam F, Palecek SP. Directed differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells to epicardial-derived fibroblasts. STAR Protoc 2022; 3:101275. [PMID: 35403005 PMCID: PMC8991283 DOI: 10.1016/j.xpro.2022.101275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Cardiac fibroblasts (CFBs) are a key therapeutic target due to their supportive roles during heart development and response to injury and disease. Here, we describe a robust protocol to differentiate human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) into CFBs through an epicardial intermediate. We discuss in detail the characterization of the resulting epicardial-derived fibroblasts (EpiC-FBs) using immunofluorescence microscopy, flow cytometry, and qPCR. We anticipate that these EpiC-FBs can be applied to drug testing, disease modeling, and tissue engineering. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Bao et al. (2016), Floy et al. (2021), and Lian et al. (2015).
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