ultrasonic-augmented-primary-adult-fibroblast-isolation

Ultrasonic-augmented Primary Adult Fibroblast Isolation

Primary adult fibroblasts have become an important tool to study fibrosis, fibroblast interactions and inflammation in all body tissues. Since primary ...

Technische Universität Dresden

Protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) is a key regulator of important cardiac signaling pathways. Dysregulation of PP1 has been heavily implicated in cardiac dysfunctions. Accordingly, pharmacological targeting of PP1 activity is considered for therapeutic intervention in human cardiomyopathies. Recent evidence from animal models implicated previously unrecognized, isoform-specific activities of PP1 in the healthy and diseased heart. Therefore, this study examined the expression of the distinct PP1 isoforms PP1α, β, and γ in human heart failure (HF) and atrial fibrillation (AF) and addressed the consequences of β-adrenoceptor blocker (beta-blocker) therapy for HF patients with reduced ejection fraction on PP1 isoform expression. Using western blot analysis, we found greater abundance of PP1 isoforms α and γ but unaltered PP1β levels in left ventricular myocardial tissues from HF patients as compared to non-failing controls. However, expression of all three PP1 isoforms was higher in atrial appendages from patients with AF compared to patients with sinus rhythm. Moreover, we found that in human failing ventricles, beta-blocker therapy was associated with lower PP1α abundance and activity, as indicated by higher phosphorylation of the PP1α-specific substrate eIF2α. Greater eIF2α phosphorylation is a known repressor of protein translation, and accordingly, we found lower levels of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress marker Grp78 in the very same samples. We propose that isoform-specific targeting of PP1α activity may be a novel and innovative therapeutic strategy for the treatment of human cardiac diseases by reducing ER stress conditions.

Differential regulation of protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) isoforms in human heart failure and atrial fibrillation.

Erratum to: Differential regulation of protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) isoforms in human heart failure and atrial fibrillation.

Generation of homogeneous populations of subtype-specific cardiomyocytes (CMs) derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and their comprehensive phenotyping is crucial for a better understanding of the subtype-related disease mechanisms and as tools for the development of chamber-specific drugs. The goals of this study were to apply a simple and efficient method for differentiation of iPSCs into defined functional CM subtypes in feeder-free conditions and to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the molecular, cell biological, and functional properties of atrial and ventricular iPSC-CMs on both the single-cell and engineered heart muscle (EHM) level. By a stage-specific activation of retinoic acid signaling in monolayer-based and well-defined culture, we showed that cardiac progenitors can be directed towards a highly homogeneous population of atrial CMs. By combining the transcriptome and proteome profiling of the iPSC-CM subtypes with functional characterizations via optical action potential and calcium imaging, and with contractile analyses in EHM, we demonstrated that atrial and ventricular iPSC-CMs and -EHM highly correspond to the atrial and ventricular heart muscle, respectively. This study provides a comprehensive understanding of the molecular and functional identities characteristic of atrial and ventricular iPSC-CMs and -EHM and supports their suitability in disease modeling and chamber-specific drug screening.

Deep phenotyping of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived atrial and ventricular cardiomyocytes.

Increased sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca leak via the cardiac ryanodine receptor (RyR2) has been suggested to play a mechanistic role in the development of heart failure (HF) and cardiac arrhythmia. Mice treated with a selective RyR2 stabilizer, rycal S36, showed normalization of SR Ca leak and improved survival in pressure overload (PO) and myocardial infarction (MI) models. The development of HF, measured by echocardiography and molecular markers, showed no difference in rycal S36- versus placebo-treated mice. Reduction of SR Ca leak in the PO model by the rycal-unrelated RyR2 stabilizer dantrolene did not mitigate HF progression. Development of HF was not aggravated by increased SR Ca leak due to RyR2 mutation (R2474S) in volume overload, an SR Ca leak-independent HF model. Arrhythmia episodes were reduced by rycal S36 treatment in PO and MI mice in vivo and ex vivo in Langendorff-perfused hearts. Isolated cardiomyocytes from murine failing hearts and human ventricular failing and atrial nonfailing myocardium showed reductions in delayed afterdepolarizations, in spontaneous and induced Ca waves, and in triggered activity in rycal S36 versus placebo cells, whereas the Ca transient, SR Ca load, SR Ca adenosine triphosphatase function, and action potential duration were not affected. Rycal S36 treatment of human induced pluripotent stem cells isolated from a patient with catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia could rescue the leaky RyR2 receptor. These results suggest that SR Ca leak does not primarily influence contractile HF progression, whereas rycal S36 treatment markedly reduces ventricular arrhythmias, thereby improving survival in mice.

Karolina Sekeres

Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology,
Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus,
Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus

Technische Universität Dresden

Ultrasonic-augmented Primary Adult Fibroblast Isolation

Karolina Sekeres

Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology,Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus,Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus

Technische Universität Dresden

Ultrasonic-augmented Primary Adult Fibroblast Isolation

Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology,
Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus,
Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus