1
|
Montero-Calle P, Flandes-Iparraguirre M, Mountris K, S de la Nava A, Laita N, Rosales RM, Iglesias-García O, De-Juan-Pardo EM, Atienza F, Fernández-Santos ME, Peña E, Doblaré M, Gavira JJ, Fernández-Avilés F, Prosper F, Pueyo E, Mazo Vega MM. Fabrication of human myocardium using multidimensional modelling of engineered tissues. Biofabrication 2022; 14. [PMID: 36007502 DOI: 10.1088/1758-5090/ac8cb3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2022] [Accepted: 08/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Biofabrication of human tissues has seen a meteoric growth triggered by recent technical advancements such as human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) and additive manufacturing. However, generation of cardiac tissue is still hampered by lack of addequate mechanical properties and crucially by the often unpredictable post-fabrication evolution of biological components. In this study we employ melt electrowriting (MEW) and hiPSC-derived cardiac cells to generate fibre-reinforced human cardiac minitissues. These are thoroughly characterized in order to build computational models and simulations able to predict their post-fabrication evolution. Our results show that MEW-based human minitissues display advanced maturation 28 post-generation, with a significant increase in the expression of cardiac genes such as MYL2, GJA5, SCN5A and the MYH7/MYH6 and MYL2/MYL7 ratios. Human iPSC-cardiomyocytes are significantly more aligned within the MEW-based 3D tissues, as compared to conventional 2D controls, and also display greater expression of CX43. These are also correlated with a more mature functionality in the form of faster conduction velocity. We used these data to develop simulations capable of accurately reproducing the experimental performance. In-depth gauging of the structural disposition (cellular alignment) and intercellular connectivity (CX43) allowed us to develop an improved computational model able to predict the relationship between cardiac cell alignment and functional performance. This study lays down the path for advancing in the development of in silico tools to predict cardiac biofabricated tissue evolution after generation, and maps the route towards more accurate and biomimetic tissue manufacture.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Konstantinos Mountris
- Aragón Institute for Engineering Research, Mariano Esquillor Gómez, Zaragoza, 50018 , SPAIN
| | - Ana S de la Nava
- Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, 46, Dr. Esquerdo, Madrid, Madrid, 28007, SPAIN
| | - Nicolás Laita
- Aragón Institute for Engineering Research, Mariano Esquillor Gómez, Zaragoza, 50018, SPAIN
| | - Ricardo M Rosales
- Aragón Institute for Engineering Research, Mariano Esquillor Gómez, Zaragoza, 50018, SPAIN
| | | | - Elena M De-Juan-Pardo
- Mechanical Engineering, University of Western Australia Faculty of Engineering Computing and Mathematics, M050, B.Block, 1.36, 35 Stirling Highway, Perth, Perth, Western Australia, 6009, AUSTRALIA
| | - Felipe Atienza
- Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, 46, Dr. Esquerdo st, Madrid, Madrid, 28007, SPAIN
| | | | - Estefanía Peña
- Aragón Institute for Engineering Research, Mariano Esquillor Gómez, Zaragoza, 50018, SPAIN
| | - Manuel Doblaré
- Instituto de Investigación en Ingeniería de Aragón, Mariano Esquillor Gómez, Zaragoza, 50018, SPAIN
| | - Juan J Gavira
- Department of Cardiology, Clínica Universidad de Navarra, Pio XII av, Pamplona, 31008, SPAIN
| | | | - Felipe Prosper
- Hematology, Universidad de Navarra, Pio XII, 36, Pamplona, Navarra, 31008, SPAIN
| | - Esther Pueyo
- Instituto de Investigación en Ingeniería de Aragón, Calle Mariano Esquillor s/n, Zaragoza, 50018, SPAIN
| | | |
Collapse
|
2
|
López-Muneta L, Linares J, Casis O, Martínez-Ibáñez L, González Miqueo A, Bezunartea J, Sanchez de la Nava AM, Gallego M, Fernández-Santos ME, Rodriguez-Madoz JR, Aranguren XL, Fernández-Avilés F, Segovia JC, Prósper F, Carvajal-Vergara X. Generation of NKX2.5GFP Reporter Human iPSCs and Differentiation Into Functional Cardiac Fibroblasts. Front Cell Dev Biol 2022; 9:797927. [PMID: 35127713 PMCID: PMC8815860 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2021.797927] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2021] [Accepted: 12/06/2021] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Direct cardiac reprogramming has emerged as an interesting approach for the treatment and regeneration of damaged hearts through the direct conversion of fibroblasts into cardiomyocytes or cardiovascular progenitors. However, in studies with human cells, the lack of reporter fibroblasts has hindered the screening of factors and consequently, the development of robust direct cardiac reprogramming protocols.In this study, we have generated functional human NKX2.5GFP reporter cardiac fibroblasts. We first established a new NKX2.5GFP reporter human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) line using a CRISPR-Cas9-based knock-in approach in order to preserve function which could alter the biology of the cells. The reporter was found to faithfully track NKX2.5 expressing cells in differentiated NKX2.5GFP hiPSC and the potential of NKX2.5-GFP + cells to give rise to the expected cardiac lineages, including functional ventricular- and atrial-like cardiomyocytes, was demonstrated. Then NKX2.5GFP cardiac fibroblasts were obtained through directed differentiation, and these showed typical fibroblast-like morphology, a specific marker expression profile and, more importantly, functionality similar to patient-derived cardiac fibroblasts. The advantage of using this approach is that it offers an unlimited supply of cellular models for research in cardiac reprogramming, and since NKX2.5 is expressed not only in cardiomyocytes but also in cardiovascular precursors, the detection of both induced cell types would be possible. These reporter lines will be useful tools for human direct cardiac reprogramming research and progress in this field.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Leyre López-Muneta
- Regenerative Medicine Program, Foundation for Applied Medical Research (CIMA), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra (IdiSNA), University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
| | - Javier Linares
- Regenerative Medicine Program, Foundation for Applied Medical Research (CIMA), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra (IdiSNA), University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
| | - Oscar Casis
- Departament of Physiology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
| | - Laura Martínez-Ibáñez
- Program of Cardiovascular Diseases, Foundation for Applied Medical Research (CIMA), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra (IdiSNA), University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
| | - Arantxa González Miqueo
- Program of Cardiovascular Diseases, Foundation for Applied Medical Research (CIMA), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra (IdiSNA), University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Cardiovascular (CIBERCV), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Jaione Bezunartea
- Retinal Pathologies and New Therapies Group, Experimental Ophthalmology Laboratory, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Navarra Clinic, Pamplona, Spain
| | - Ana Maria Sanchez de la Nava
- Department of Cardiology, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Gregorio Marañón (IISGM), Madrid, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomedica en Red de Enfermedades Cardiovasculares (CIBERCV), Madrid, Spain
| | - Mónica Gallego
- Departament of Physiology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
| | - María Eugenia Fernández-Santos
- Department of Cardiology, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Gregorio Marañón (IISGM), Madrid, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomedica en Red de Enfermedades Cardiovasculares (CIBERCV), Madrid, Spain
| | - Juan Roberto Rodriguez-Madoz
- Hemato-oncology Program, CIMA Universidad de Navarra, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra (IdiSNA), Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Cáncer (CIBERONC), Pamplona, Spain
| | - Xabier L. Aranguren
- Regenerative Medicine Program, Foundation for Applied Medical Research (CIMA), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra (IdiSNA), University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
| | - Francisco Fernández-Avilés
- Department of Cardiology, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Gregorio Marañón (IISGM), Madrid, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomedica en Red de Enfermedades Cardiovasculares (CIBERCV), Madrid, Spain
- Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - José Carlos Segovia
- Cell Technology Division, Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (CIEMAT), Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), Madrid, Spain
- Unidad Mixta de Terapias Avanzadas, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Fundación Jiménez Díaz (IIS-FJD, UAM), Madrid, Spain
| | - Felipe Prósper
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Cáncer (CIBERONC), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra (IdiSNA), Department of Hematology and Cell Therapy, University of Navarra Clinic, Pamplona, Spain
| | - Xonia Carvajal-Vergara
- Regenerative Medicine Program, Foundation for Applied Medical Research (CIMA), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra (IdiSNA), University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
- *Correspondence: Xonia Carvajal-Vergara,
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Báez-Díaz C, Blanco-Blázquez V, Sánchez-Margallo FM, López E, Martín H, Espona-Noguera A, Casado JG, Ciriza J, Pedraz JL, Crisóstomo V. Intrapericardial Delivery of APA-Microcapsules as Promising Stem Cell Therapy Carriers in an Experimental Acute Myocardial Infarction Model. Pharmaceutics 2021; 13:1824. [PMID: 34834235 PMCID: PMC8626005 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics13111824] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2021] [Revised: 10/15/2021] [Accepted: 10/26/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The administration of cardiosphere-derived cells (CDCs) after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is very promising. CDC encapsulation in alginate-poly-l-lysine-alginate (APA) could increase cell survival and adherence. The intrapericardial (IP) approach potentially achieves high concentrations of the therapeutic agent in the infarcted area. We aimed to evaluate IP therapy using a saline vehicle as a control (CON), a dose of 30 × 106 CDCs (CDCs) or APA microcapsules containing 30 × 106 CDCs (APA-CDCs) at 72 h in a porcine AMI model. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to determine the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), infarct size (IS), and indexed end diastolic and systolic volumes (EDVi; ESVi) pre- and 10 weeks post-injection. Programmed electrical stimulation (PES) was performed to test arrhythmia inducibility before euthanasia. Histopathological analysis was carried out afterwards. The IP infusion was successful in all animals. At 10 weeks, MRI revealed significantly higher LVEF in the APA-CDC group compared with CON. No significant differences were observed among groups in IS, EDVi, ESVi, PES and histopathological analyses. In conclusion, the IP injection of CDCs (microencapsulated or not) was feasible and safe 72 h post-AMI in the porcine model. Moreover, CDCs APA encapsulation could have a beneficial effect on cardiac function, reflected by a higher LVEF at 10 weeks.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Báez-Díaz
- CIBERCV, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain; (V.B.-B.); (F.M.S.-M.); (V.C.)
- Fundación Centro de Cirugía de Mínima Invasión Jesús Usón, 10071 Cáceres, Spain; (E.L.); (H.M.)
| | - Virginia Blanco-Blázquez
- CIBERCV, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain; (V.B.-B.); (F.M.S.-M.); (V.C.)
- Fundación Centro de Cirugía de Mínima Invasión Jesús Usón, 10071 Cáceres, Spain; (E.L.); (H.M.)
| | - Francisco Miguel Sánchez-Margallo
- CIBERCV, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain; (V.B.-B.); (F.M.S.-M.); (V.C.)
- Fundación Centro de Cirugía de Mínima Invasión Jesús Usón, 10071 Cáceres, Spain; (E.L.); (H.M.)
| | - Esther López
- Fundación Centro de Cirugía de Mínima Invasión Jesús Usón, 10071 Cáceres, Spain; (E.L.); (H.M.)
| | - Helena Martín
- Fundación Centro de Cirugía de Mínima Invasión Jesús Usón, 10071 Cáceres, Spain; (E.L.); (H.M.)
| | - Albert Espona-Noguera
- Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Avanzados Lucio Lascaray (CIEA), Laboratorio de Desarrollo y Evaluación de Medicamentos, 01006 Vitoria Gasteiz, Spain; (A.E.-N.); (J.L.P.)
- CIBER bbn, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain;
| | - Javier G. Casado
- Immunology Unit-Institute of Molecular Pathology Biomarkers, Veterinary Faculty, University of Extremadura, 10003 Cáceres, Spain;
| | - Jesús Ciriza
- CIBER bbn, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain;
- Tissue Microenvironment (TME) Lab, Aragón Institute of Engineering Research (I3A), University of Zaragoza, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain
| | - José Luis Pedraz
- Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Avanzados Lucio Lascaray (CIEA), Laboratorio de Desarrollo y Evaluación de Medicamentos, 01006 Vitoria Gasteiz, Spain; (A.E.-N.); (J.L.P.)
- CIBER bbn, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain;
| | - Verónica Crisóstomo
- CIBERCV, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain; (V.B.-B.); (F.M.S.-M.); (V.C.)
- Fundación Centro de Cirugía de Mínima Invasión Jesús Usón, 10071 Cáceres, Spain; (E.L.); (H.M.)
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
The Essential Need for a Validated Potency Assay for Cell-Based Therapies in Cardiac Regenerative and Reparative Medicine. A Practical Approach to Test Development. Stem Cell Rev Rep 2021; 17:2235-2244. [PMID: 34463902 PMCID: PMC8599250 DOI: 10.1007/s12015-021-10244-5] [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] [Accepted: 08/12/2021] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Biological treatments are one of the medical breakthroughs in the twenty-first century. The initial enthusiasm pushed the field towards indiscriminatory use of cell therapy regardless of the pathophysiological particularities of underlying conditions. In the reparative and regenerative cardiovascular field, the results of the over two decades of research in cell-based therapies, although promising still could not be translated into clinical scenario. Now, when we identified possible deficiencies and try to rebuild its foundations rigorously on scientific evidence, development of potency assays for the potential therapeutic product is one of the steps which will bring our goal of clinical translation closer. Although, highly challenging, the potency tests for cell products are considered as a priority by the regulatory agencies. In this paper we describe the main characteristics and challenges for a cell therapy potency test focusing on the cardiovascular field. Moreover, we discuss different steps and types of assays that should be taken into consideration for an eventual potency test development by tying together two fundamental concepts: target disease and expected mechanism of action.
Collapse
|
5
|
Cardiac Extracellular Matrix Hydrogel Enriched with Polyethylene Glycol Presents Improved Gelation Time and Increased On-Target Site Retention of Extracellular Vesicles. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22179226. [PMID: 34502146 PMCID: PMC8431142 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22179226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2021] [Revised: 08/19/2021] [Accepted: 08/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Stem-cell-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) have demonstrated multiple beneficial effects in preclinical models of cardiac diseases. However, poor retention at the target site may limit their therapeutic efficacy. Cardiac extracellular matrix hydrogels (cECMH) seem promising as drug-delivery materials and could improve the retention of EVs, but may be limited by their long gelation time and soft mechanical properties. Our objective was to develop and characterize an optimized product combining cECMH, polyethylene glycol (PEG), and EVs (EVs–PEG–cECMH) in an attempt to overcome their individual limitations: long gelation time of the cECMH and poor retention of the EVs. The new combined product presented improved physicochemical properties (60% reduction in half gelation time, p < 0.001, and threefold increase in storage modulus, p < 0.01, vs. cECMH alone), while preserving injectability and biodegradability. It also maintained in vitro bioactivity of its individual components (55% reduction in cellular senescence vs. serum-free medium, p < 0.001, similar to EVs and cECMH alone) and increased on-site retention in vivo (fourfold increase vs. EVs alone, p < 0.05). In conclusion, the combination of EVs–PEG–cECMH is a potential multipronged product with improved gelation time and mechanical properties, increased on-site retention, and maintained bioactivity that, all together, may translate into boosted therapeutic efficacy.
Collapse
|