advancing-the-assessment-of-cardiac-injury-and-function

Advancing the Assessment of Cardiac Injury and Function

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Cell-based cardiac therapy is a promising therapeutic strategy to restore heart function after myocardial infarction (MI). However, the cell type selection and ensuing effects remain controversial. Here, we intramyocardially injected Isl1+ cardiac progenitor cells (CPCs) derived from EGFP/luciferase double-tagged mouse embryonic stem (dt-mES) cells with vehicle (fibrin gel) or phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) into the infarcted area in nude mice to assess the contribution of CPCs to the recovery of cardiac function post-MI. Our results showed that Isl1+ CPCs differentiated normally into three cardiac lineages (cardiomyocytes (CMs), endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells) both on cell culture plates and in fibrin gel. Cell retention was significantly increased when the transplanted cells were injected with vehicle. Importantly, 28 days after injection, CPCs were observed to differentiate into CMs within the infarcted area. Moreover, numerous CD31+ endothelial cells derived from endogenous revascularization and differentiation of the injected CPCs were detected. SMMHC-, Ki67- and CX-43-positive cells were identified in the injected CPC population, further demonstrating the proliferation, differentiation and integration of the transplanted CPCs in host cells. Furthermore, animal hearts injected with CPCs showed increased angiogenesis, decreased infarct size, and improved heart function. In conclusion, our studies showed that Isl1+ CPCs, when combined with a suitable vehicle, can produce notable therapeutic effects in the infarcted heart, suggesting that CPCs might be an ideal cell source for cardiac therapy.

Transplantation of multipotent Isl1+ cardiac progenitor cells preserves infarcted heart function in mice.

Myocardial infarction (MI) is accompanied by severe energy deprivation and extensive epigenetic changes. However, how energy metabolism and chromatin modifications are interlinked during MI and heart repair has been poorly explored. Here, we examined the effect of different carbon sources that are involved in the major metabolic pathways of acetyl-CoA synthesis on myocardial infarction and found that elevation of acetyl-CoA by sodium octanoate (8C) significantly improved heart function in ischemia reperfusion (I/R) rats. Mechanistically, 8C reduced I/R injury by promoting histone acetylation which in turn activated the expression of antioxidant genes and inhibited cardiomyocyte (CM) apoptosis. Furthermore, we elucidated that 8C-promoted histone acetylation and heart repair were carried out by metabolic enzyme medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (MCAD) and histone acetyltransferase Kat2a, suggesting that 8C dramatically improves cardiac function mainly through metabolic acetyl-CoA-mediated histone acetylation. Therefore, our study uncovers an interlinked metabolic/epigenetic network comprising 8C, acetyl-CoA, MCAD, and Kat2a to combat heart injury.

Article	Year
Transplantation of multipotent Isl1+ cardiac progenitor cells preserves infarcted heart function in mice. American journal of translational research\| PubMed ID: 28386378	2017
Acetyl-CoA production by specific metabolites promotes cardiac repair after myocardial infarction via histone acetylation. eLife\| PubMed ID: 34939931	2021

Ienglam Lei

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