An upregulation in the expression of vanilloid transient potential channels 2 enhances hypotonicity-induced cytosolic Ca²⁺ rise in human induced pluripotent stem cell model of Hutchinson-Gillford Progeria

Cellular reprogramming as a tool to model human aging in a dish

The design of human model systems is highly relevant to unveil the underlying mechanisms of aging and to provide insights on potential interventions to extend human health and life span. In this perspective, we explore the potential of 2D or 3D culture models comprising human induced pluripotent stem cells and transdifferentiated cells obtained from aged or age-related disorder-affected donors to enhance our understanding of human aging and to catalyze the discovery of anti-aging interventions.

Morphoceuticals: perspectives for discovery of drugs targeting anatomical control mechanisms in regenerative medicine, cancer and aging

Morphoceuticals are a new class of interventions that target the setpoints of anatomical homeostasis for efficient, modular control of growth and form. Here, we focus on a subclass: electroceuticals, which specifically target the cellular bioelectrical interface. Cellular collectives in all tissues form bioelectrical networks via ion channels and gap junctions that process morphogenetic information, controlling gene expression and allowing cell networks to adaptively and dynamically control growth and pattern formation. Recent progress in understanding this physiological control system, including predictive computational models, suggests that targeting bioelectrical interfaces can control embryogenesis and maintain shape against injury, senescence and tumorigenesis. We propose a roadmap for drug discovery focused on manipulating endogenous bioelectric signaling for regenerative medicine, cancer suppression and antiaging therapeutics. Teaser: By taking advantage of the native problem-solving competencies of cells and tissues, a new kind of top-down approach to biomedicine becomes possible. Bioelectricity offers an especially tractable interface for interventions targeting the software of life for regenerative medicine applications.

High-Throughput Screen Detects Calcium Signaling Dysfunction in Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome

Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS) is a deadly childhood disorder, which is considered a very rare disease. It is caused by an autosomal dominant mutation on the LMNA gene, and it is characterized by accelerated aging. Human cell lines from HGPS patients and healthy parental controls were studied in parallel using next-generation sequencing (NGS) to unravel new non-previously altered molecular pathways. Nine hundred and eleven transcripts were differentially expressed when comparing healthy versus HGPS cell lines from a total of 21,872 transcripts; ITPR1, ITPR3, CACNA2D1, and CAMK2N1 stood out among them due to their links with calcium signaling, and these were validated by Western blot analysis. It was observed that the basal concentration of intracellular Ca²⁺ was statistically higher in HGPS cell lines compared to healthy ones. The relationship between genes involved in Ca²⁺ signaling and mitochondria-associated membranes (MAM) was demonstrated through cytosolic calcium handling by means of an automated fluorescent plate reading system (FlexStation 3, Molecular Devices), and apoptosis and mitochondrial ROS production were examined by means of flow cytometry analysis. Altogether, our data suggest that the Ca²⁺ signaling pathway is altered in HGPS at least in part due to the overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Our results unravel a new therapeutic window for the treatment of this rare disease and open new strategies to study pathologies involving both accelerated and healthy aging.

Endoplasmic reticulum stress at the crossroads of progeria and atherosclerosis

Hutchinson–Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS) is a rare pathology caused by a specific mutation (c.1824C>T; p.G608G) in the LMNA gene (Eriksson et al, 2003). In healthy conditions, LMNA encodes lamins A and C, two major structural nuclear proteins. The mutation creates a splice site in exon 11, resulting in ubiquitous expression of progerin, an aberrant lamin A precursor. Mutations of LMNA can cause laminopathies, a group of diseases with a wide spectrum of, often overlapping, tissue‐specific phenotypes. HGPS is probably one of the most devastating forms of laminopathy. Affected patients display signs of accelerated aging, such as lack of subcutaneous fat, hair loss, joint contractures, and skin thinning, and usually die prematurely from cardiovascular complications. Atherosclerosis is one of the most severe and clinically relevant features of HGPS, manifesting in the absence of classical risk factors, such as increased low‐density lipoprotein and C‐reactive protein (Gordon et al, 2005). In this issue, Hamczyk et al (2019) describe a mechanism for HGPS‐related atherosclerosis.

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells to Study Mechanisms of Laminopathies: Focus on Epigenetics

Laminopathies are a group of rare degenerative disorders that manifest with a wide spectrum of clinical phenotypes, including both systemic multi-organ disorders, such as the Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS), and tissue-restricted diseases, such as Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy, dilated cardiomyopathy and lipodystrophies, often overlapping. Despite their clinical heterogeneity, which remains an open question, laminopathies are commonly caused by mutations in the LMNA gene, encoding the nuclear proteins Lamin A and C. These two proteins are main components of the nuclear lamina and are involved in several biological processes. Besides the well-known structural function in the nucleus, their role in regulating chromatin organization and transcription has emerged in the last decade, supporting the hypothesis that the disruption of this layer of regulation may be mechanism underlying the disease. Indeed, recent studies that show various epigenetic defects in cells carrying LMNA mutations, such as loss of heterochromatin, changes in gene expression and chromatin remodeling, strongly support this view. However, those findings are restricted to few cell types in humans, mainly because of the limited accessibility of primary cells and the difficulties to culture them ex-vivo. On the other hand, animal models might fail to recapitulate phenotypic hallmarks of the disease as of humans. To fill this gap, models based on induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSCs) technology have been recently generated that allowed investigations on diverse cells types, such as mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), vascular and smooth muscle cells and cardiomyocytes, and provided a platform for investigating mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of laminopathies in a cell-type specific human context. Nevertheless, studies on iPSC-based models of laminopathy have expanded only in the last few years and, with the advancement of reprogramming and differentiation protocols, their number is expecting to further increase over time. This review will give an overview of models developed thus far, with a focus on the novel insights on epigenetic mechanisms underlying the disease in different human cellular contexts. Perspectives and future directions of the field will be also given, highlighting the potential of those models for preclinical studies for identifying molecular targets and their translational impact on patients' cure.

Differential stem cell aging kinetics in Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome and Werner syndrome

Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS) and Werner syndrome (WS) are two of the best characterized human progeroid syndromes. HGPS is caused by a point mutation in lamin A (LMNA) gene, resulting in the production of a truncated protein product-progerin. WS is caused by mutations in WRN gene, encoding a loss-of-function RecQ DNA helicase. Here, by gene editing we created isogenic human embryonic stem cells (ESCs) with heterozygous (G608G/+) or homozygous (G608G/G608G) LMNA mutation and biallelic WRN knockout, for modeling HGPS and WS pathogenesis, respectively. While ESCs and endothelial cells (ECs) did not present any features of premature senescence, HGPS- and WS-mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) showed aging-associated phenotypes with different kinetics. WS-MSCs had early-onset mild premature aging phenotypes while HGPS-MSCs exhibited late-onset acute premature aging characterisitcs. Taken together, our study compares and contrasts the distinct pathologies underpinning the two premature aging disorders, and provides reliable stem-cell based models to identify new therapeutic strategies for pathological and physiological aging.

Methods for Evaluation of Vascular Endothelial Cell Function with Transient Receptor Potential (TRP) Channel Drugs

Vascular endothelial transient potential (TRP) channels, located mostly on the plasma membrane of cells, are critical in regulatory and pathophysiological circumstances. The objective of this chapter is to describe several well-established approaches, ranging from function to molecular assays, to investigate the mechanistic role of TRP channels in vascular endothelial cells. We show experimental procedures and representative figures on the following methods: (1) Isolation and culture of vascular endothelial cells, (2) examination of electrophysiological activity of TRP channel by patch-clamping with whole-cell configuration and its function in vascular tone and blood flow by isometric tension and isobaric diameter measurements, and Laser Doppler flowmetry, (3) detection of TRP channel-mediated intracellular Ca²⁺ imaging by using fluorescent microscopy, and (4) determination of TRP channel interaction by coimmunoprecipitation, double immunofluorescence staining and Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) detection.

Epigenetic determinants of cardiovascular gene expression: vascular endothelium

The modern landscape of gene regulation involves interacting factors that ultimately lead to gene activation or repression. Epigenetic mechanisms provide a perspective of cellular phenotype as dynamically regulated and responsive to input. This perspective is supported by the generation of induced pluripotent stem cells from fully differentiated cell types. In vascular endothelial cells, evidence suggests that epigenetic mechanisms play a major role in the expression of endothelial cell-specific genes such as the endothelial nitric oxide synthase (NOS3/eNOS). These mechanisms are also important for eNOS expression in response to environmental stimuli such as hypoxia and shear stress. A newer paradigm in epigenetics, long noncoding RNAs offer a link between genetic variation, epigenetic regulation and disease. While the understanding of epigenetic mechanisms is early in its course, it is becoming clear that approaches to understanding the interaction of these factors and their inputs will be necessary to improve outcomes in cardiovascular disease.

Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome as a model for vascular aging

Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS) is a premature aging disorder caused by a de novo genetic mutation that leads to the accumulation of a splicing isoform of lamin A termed progerin. Progerin expression alters the organization of the nuclear lamina and chromatin. The life expectancy of HGPS patients is severely reduced due to critical cardiovascular defects. Progerin also accumulates in an age-dependent manner in the vascular cells of adults that do not carry genetic mutations associated with HGPS. The molecular mechanisms that lead to vascular dysfunction in HGPS may therefore also play a role in vascular aging. The vascular phenotypic and molecular changes observed in HGPS are strikingly similar to those seen with age, including increased senescence, altered mechanotransduction and stem cell exhaustion. This article discusses the similarities and differences between age-dependent and HGPS-related vascular aging to highlight the relevance of HGPS as a model for vascular aging. Induced pluripotent stem cells derived from HGPS patients are suggested as an attractive model to study vascular aging in order to develop novel approaches to treat cardiovascular disease.