Transcriptional Variabilities in Human hiPSC-derived Cardiomyocytes: All Genes Are Not Equal and Their Robustness May Foretell Donor's Disease Susceptibility.

Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) are frequently used to study disease-associated variations. We characterized transcriptional variability from a hiPSC-derived cardiomyocyte (hiPSC-CM) study of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) using donor samples from the HyperGEN study. Multiple hiPSC-CM differentiations over reprogramming events (iPSC generation) across 7 donors were used to assess variabilities from reprogramming, differentiation, and donor LVH status. Variability arising from pathological alterations was assessed using a cardiac stimulant applied to the hiPSC-CMs to trigger hypertrophic responses. We found that for most genes (73.3%~85.5%), technical variability was smaller than biological variability. Further, we identified and characterized lists of "noise" genes showing greater technical variability and "signal" genes showing greater biological variability. Together, they support a "genetic robustness" hypothesis of disease-modeling whereby cellular response to relevant stimuli in hiPSC-derived somatic cells from diseased donors tends to show more transcriptional variability. Our findings suggest that hiPSC-CMs can provide a valid model for cardiac hypertrophy and distinguish between technical and disease-relevant transcriptional changes.

Parthenogenetic stem cells for tissue-engineered heart repair.

Uniparental parthenotes are considered an unwanted byproduct of in vitro fertilization. In utero parthenote development is severely compromised by defective organogenesis and in particular by defective cardiogenesis. Although developmentally compromised, apparently pluripotent stem cells can be derived from parthenogenetic blastocysts. Here we hypothesized that nonembryonic parthenogenetic stem cells (PSCs) can be directed toward the cardiac lineage and applied to tissue-engineered heart repair. We first confirmed similar fundamental properties in murine PSCs and embryonic stem cells (ESCs), despite notable differences in genetic (allelic variability) and epigenetic (differential imprinting) characteristics. Haploidentity of major histocompatibility complexes (MHCs) in PSCs is particularly attractive for allogeneic cell-based therapies. Accordingly, we confirmed acceptance of PSCs in MHC-matched allotransplantation. Cardiomyocyte derivation from PSCs and ESCs was equally effective. The use of cardiomyocyte-restricted GFP enabled cell sorting and documentation of advanced structural and functional maturation in vitro and in vivo. This included seamless electrical integration of PSC-derived cardiomyocytes into recipient myocardium. Finally, we enriched cardiomyocytes to facilitate engineering of force-generating myocardium and demonstrated the utility of this technique in enhancing regional myocardial function after myocardial infarction. Collectively, our data demonstrate pluripotency, with unrestricted cardiogenicity in PSCs, and introduce this unique cell type as an attractive source for tissue-engineered heart repair.

The cardiomyocyte lineage is critical for optimization of stem cell therapy in a mouse model of myocardial infarction.

We recently described a murine embryonic stem cell (ESC) line engineered to express the activated Notch 4 receptor in a tetracycline (doxcycline; Dox) regulated fashion (tet-notch4 ESCs). Notch 4 induction in Flk1(+) hematopoietic and vascular progenitors from this line respecified them to a cardiovascular fate. We reasoned that these cells would be ideal for evaluating the contribution of the cardiomyocyte and vascular lineages to the functional improvement noted following stem cell transplantation in infarcted hearts. Flk-1(+) Tet-notch4 cells from d 3 embryoid bodies exposed to doxycycline (Dox(+)) were compared to uninduced (Dox(-)) Flk-1(+) cells. Mice underwent transplantation of 5 x 10(5) Dox(+) cells, Dox(-)cells, or an equal volume of serum-free medium after surgically induced myocardial infarction. The mean ejection fraction was 59 + or - 15, 46 + or - 17, and 39 + or - 13% in the Dox(+), Dox(-), and serum-free medium groups, respectively (P<0.05 for the differences among all 3 groups). Immunohistochemistry of hearts injected with Dox(+) grafts expressed myocardial and vascular markers, whereas grafts of Dox(-) cells expressed primarily vascular markers. We conclude that cardiovascular progenitors are more effective than vascular progenitors in improving function after myocardial infarction. The transplantation of appropriate cell types is critical for maximizing the benefit of cardiovascular cell therapy.-Adler, E. D., Chen, V. C., Bystrup, A., Kaplan, A. D., Giovannone, S., Briley-Saebo, K., Young, W., Kattman, S., Mani, V., Laflamme, M., Zhu, W.-Z., Fayad, Z., Keller, G. The cardiomyocyte lineage is critical for optimization of stem cell therapy in a mouse model of myocardial infarction.