Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells in Cardiovascular Medicine

Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells are generated by reprogramming human somatic cells through the forced expression of several embryonic stem (ES) cell-specific transcription factors. The potential of iPS cells is having a significant impact on regenerative medicine, with the promise of infinite self-renewal, differentiation into multiple cell types, and no problems concerning ethics or immunological rejection. Human iPS cells are currently generated by transgene introduction principally through viral vectors, which integrate into host genomes, although the associated risk of tumorigenesis is driving research into nonintegration methods. Techniques for pluripotent stem cell differentiation and purification to yield cardiomyocytes are also advancing constantly. Although there remain some unsolved problems, cardiomyocyte transplantation may be a reality in the future. After those problems will be solved, applications of human iPS cells in human cardiovascular regenerative medicine will be envisaged for the future. Furthermore, iPS cell technology has generated new human disease models using disease-specific cells. This paper summarizes the progress of iPS cell technology in cardiovascular research

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Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells are generated by reprogramming human somatic cells through the forced expression of several embryonic stem (ES) cell-specific transcription factors. The potential of iPS cells is having a significant impact on regenerative medicine, with the promise of infinite self-renewal, differentiation into multiple cell types, and no problems concerning ethics or immunological rejection. Human iPS cells are currently generated by transgene introduction principally through viral vectors, which integrate into host genomes, although the associated risk of tumorigenesis is driving research into nonintegration methods. Techniques for pluripotent stem cell differentiation and purification to yield cardiomyocytes are also advancing constantly. Although there remain some unsolved problems, cardiomyocyte transplantation may be a reality in the future. After those problems will be solved, applications of human iPS cells in human cardiovascular regenerative medicine will be envisaged for the future. Furthermore, iPS cell technology has generated new human disease models using disease-specific cells. This paper summarizes the progress of iPS cell technology in cardiovascular research

Prognostic value of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease over coronary computed tomography angiography findings: comparison with no-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Background Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is the proposed name change for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This study aimed to investigate the association of cardiovascular disease risk with MASLD and NAFLD in patients who underwent clinically indicated coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA). Methods This retrospective study included 2289 patients (60% men; mean age: 68 years) with no history of coronary artery disease who underwent CCTA. The steatotic liver was defined as a hepatic-to-spleen attenuation ratio of Results MASLD and NAFLD were identified in 415 (18%) and 368 (16%) patients, respectively. Adverse CCTA findings were observed in 40% and 38% of the patients with MASLD and with NAFLD, respectively. Adverse CCTA findings were significantly associated with MASLD (p = 0.007) but not NAFLD (p = 0.253). During a median follow-up of 4.4 years, 102 (4.4%) MACE were observed. MASLD was significantly associated with MACE (hazard ratio 1.82, 95% CI 1.18-2.83, p = 0.007), while its association with NAFLD was not significant (p = 0.070). By incorporating MASLD into a prediction model of MACE, including the risk score and adverse CCTA findings, global chi-squared values significantly increased from 87.0 to 94.1 (p = 0.008). Conclusions Patients with MASLD are likely to have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease than those with NAFLD. Concurrent assessment of MASLD during CCTA improves the identification of patients at a higher risk of cardiovascular disease among those with clinically indicated CCTA

E-Cadherin-Coated Plates Maintain Pluripotent ES Cells without Colony Formation

Embryonic stem (ES) cells cultured on gelatin-coated plates or feeder layers form tight aggregated colonies by the E-cadherin-mediated cell-cell adhesions. Here we show that murine ES cells do not make cell-cell contacts or form colonies when cultured on the plate coated with a fusion protein of E-cadherin and IgG Fc domain. The cells in culture retain all ES cell features including pluripotency to differentiate into cells of all three germ layers and germ-line transmission after extended culture. Furthermore, they show a higher proliferative ability, lower dependency on LIF, and higher transfection efficiency than colony-forming conditions. Our results suggest that aggregated colony formation might inhibit diffusion of soluble factors and increase cell-cell communication, which may result in a heterogeneous environment within and between surrounding cells of the colony. This method should enable more efficient and scalable culture of ES cells, an important step towards the clinical application of these cells

Emerin plays a crucial role in nuclear invagination and in the nuclear calcium transient.

Alteration of the nuclear Ca2+ transient is an early event in cardiac remodeling. Regulation of the nuclear Ca2+ transient is partly independent of the cytosolic Ca2+ transient in cardiomyocytes. One nuclear membrane protein, emerin, is encoded by EMD, and an EMD mutation causes Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy (EDMD). It remains unclear whether emerin is involved in nuclear Ca2+ homeostasis. The aim of this study is to elucidate the role of emerin in rat cardiomyocytes by means of hypertrophic stimuli and in EDMD induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell-derived cardiomyocytes in terms of nuclear structure and the Ca2+ transient. The cardiac hypertrophic stimuli increased the nuclear area, decreased nuclear invagination, and increased the half-decay time of the nuclear Ca2+ transient in cardiomyocytes. Emd knockdown cardiomyocytes showed similar properties after hypertrophic stimuli. The EDMD-iPS cell-derived cardiomyocytes showed increased nuclear area, decreased nuclear invagination, and increased half-decay time of the nuclear Ca2+ transient. An autopsied heart from a patient with EDMD also showed increased nuclear area and decreased nuclear invagination. These data suggest that Emerin plays a crucial role in nuclear structure and in the nuclear Ca2+ transient. Thus, emerin and the nuclear Ca2+ transient are possible therapeutic targets in heart failure and EDMD. © The Author(s) 2017