Elucidating Molecular Basis of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy with Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
Elucidating Molecular Basis of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy with Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
Funding Type:
Basic Biology III
Grant Number:
RB3-05129
Investigator:
Funds Committed:
$1,425,600
Disease Focus:
Heart Disease
Stem Cell Use:
iPS Cell
Web Cell Line Generation:
iPS Cell
Status:
Active
Public Abstract:
Familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the leading cause of sudden cardiac death in young people, including trained athletes, and is the most common inherited heart defect. Until now, studies in humans with HCM have been limited by a variety of factors, including variable environmental stimuli which may differ between individuals (e.g., diet, exercise, and lifestyle), the relative difficulty in obtaining human cardiac samples, and inadequate methods of maintaining human heart tissue in cell culture systems. Cellular reprogramming methods that enable derivation of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) from adult cells, which can then be differentiated into cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs), are a revolutionary tool for creating disease-specific cell lines that may lead to effective targeted therapies.
In this proposal, we will derive hiPSC-CMs from patients with HCM and healthy controls, then perform a battery of functional and molecular tests to determine the presence of cardiomyopathic disease and associated abnormal molecular programs. With these preliminary studies, we believe hiPSC-CMs with HCM phenotype will dramatically enhance the ability to perform future high-throughput drug screens, evaluate gene and cell therapies, and assess novel electrophysiologic interventions for potential new therapies of HCM. Because HCM is not a rare disease but rather the leading cause of inherited heart defects, we believe the findings here should have broad clinical and scientific impact toward understanding the molecular and cellular basis of HCM.
Statement of Benefit to California:
Familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the leading cause of sudden cardiac death in young people and is the most common inherited heart defect. In this study, we will generate hiPSC-derived cardiomyocytes from patients with HCM, then perform a number of functional, molecular, bioinformatic, and imaging analyses to determine the extent and nature of cardiomyopathic disease. We believe hiPSC-CMs with HCM phenotype will dramatically enhance the ability to perform future high-throughput drug screens, evaluate gene and cell therapies, and assess electrophysiologic interventions for potential novel therapies of HCM. The experiments outlined are pertinent and central to the overall mission of CIRM, which seeks to explore the use of stem cell platforms to yield novel mechanistic insights into the molecular and cellular basis of disease. Because HCM is not an orphan disease, but rather the leading cause of sudden cardiac death in young people, we believe the research findings will benefit the state of California and its citizens.
Progress Report:
Year 1
Familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the leading cause of sudden cardiac death in young people, including trained athletes, and is the most common inherited heart defect. In this proposal, we will generate human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CMs) from patients with HCM. The specific aims are as follow: Specific Aim 1: Generate iPSCs from patients with HCM and healthy controls. Specific Aim 2: Determine the extent of disease by performing molecular and functional analyses of hiPSC-CMs. Specific Aim 3: Rescue the molecular and functional phenotypes using zinc finger nuclease (ZFN) technology. Over the past year, we have now derived iPSCs from a 10-patient family cohort with the MYH7 mutation. Established iPSC lines from all subjects were differentiated into cardiomyocyte lineages (iPSC-CMs) using standard 3D EB differentiation protocols. We found hypertrophic iPSC-CMs exhibited features of HCM such as cellular enlargement and multi-nucleation beginning in the sixth week following induction of cardiac differentiation. We also found hypertrophic iPSC-CMs demonstrated other hallmarks of HCM including expression of atrial natriuretic factor (ANF), elevation of β-myosin/α-myosin ratio, calcineurin activation, and nuclear translocation of nuclear factor of activated T-cells (NFAT) as detected by immunostaining. Blockade of calcineurin-NFAT interaction in HCM iPSC-CMs by cyclosporin A (CsA) and FK506 reduced hypertrophy by over 40%. In the absence of inhibition, NFAT-activated mediators of hypertrophy such as GATA4 and MEF2C were found to be significantly upregulated in HCM iPSC-CMs beginning day 40 post-induction of cardiac differentiation, but not prior to this point. Taken together, these results indicate that calcineurin-NFAT signaling plays a central role in the development of the HCM phenotype as caused by the Arg663His mutation.Publications
Current RFAs
CIRM funds grants through directed Requests for Applications (RFAs).
Workshop Reports
CIRM holds regular scientific workshops and meetings to update the scientific staff and CIRM grantees about particular areas of stem cell and related research.
Cerebral Palsy Workshop Report [pdf]
Human iPS Cell Banking Workshop [pdf]
SCNT Workshop Report [pdf]
