Wnt Activation and Reduced Cell-Cell Contact Synergistically Induce Massive Expansion of Functional Human iPSC-Derived Cardiomyocytes
Summary
Modulating signaling pathways including Wnt and Hippo can induce cardiomyocyte proliferation in vivo. Applying these signaling modulators to human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) in vitro can expand CMs modestly (<5-fold). Here, we demonstrate massive expansion of hiPSC-CMs in vitro (i.e., 100- to 250-fold) by glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) inhibition using CHIR99021 and concurrent removal of cell-cell contact. We show that GSK-3β inhibition suppresses CM maturation, while contact removal prevents CMs from cell cycle exit. Remarkably, contact removal enabled 10 to 25 times greater expansion beyond GSK-3β inhibition alone. Mechanistically, persistent CM proliferation required both LEF/TCF activity and AKT phosphorylation but was independent from yes-associated protein (YAP) signaling. Engineered heart tissues from expanded hiPSC-CMs showed comparable contractility to those from unexpanded hiPSC-CMs, demonstrating uncompromised cellular functionality after expansion. In summary, we uncovered a molecular interplay that enables massive hiPSC-CM expansion for large-scale drug screening and tissue engineering applications. Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
| Authors | Buikema JW, Lee S, Goodyer WR, Maas RG, Chirikian O, Li G, Miao Y, Paige SL, Lee D, Wu H, Paik DT, Rhee S, Tian L, Galdos FX, Puluca N, Beyersdorf B, Hu J, Beck A, Venkamatran S, Swami S, Wijnker P, Schuldt M, Dorsch LM, van Mil A, Red-Horse K, Wu JY, Geisen C, Hesse M, Serpooshan V, Jovinge S, Fleischmann BK, Doevendans PA, van der Velden J, Garcia KC, Wu JC, Sluijter JPG, Wu SM |
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| Journal | Cell stem cell |
| Publication Date | 2020 Jul 2;27(1):50-63.e5 |
| PubMed | 32619518 |
| PubMed Central | PMC7334437 |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.stem.2020.06.001 |