Project description:In order to unravel the impact of intestinal smooth muscle tissue on the intestinal epithelium, we isolated clean smooth muscle, cultured it for 24h in DMEM-F12, and collected the supernatant (muscle-SN). This supernatant was used to treat small intestinal organoids (made of intestinal epithelium), compared to normal ENR treatment. After 5 days of muscle-SN exposure, we disrupted the organoids, and directly isolate the RNA. RNA-seq was performed in this sample to assess the genetic changes induced by muscle products.
Project description:SARS-CoV2 infection leads to cardiac injury and dysfunction in 20-30% of hospitalized patients and higher rates of mortality in patients with pre-existing cardiovascular disease. Inflammatory factors released as part of the 'cytokine storm' are thought to play a critical role in cardiac dysfunction in severe COVID-19 patients. Here we use human cardiac organoid technology combined with high sensitivity phosphoproteomics and single nuclei RNA sequencing to identify inflammatory targets inducing cardiac dysfunction. This new pipeline allowed rapid progress and identification of putative therapeutics. We identify a novel interferon-gamma driven BRD4 (bromodomain protein 4)-fibrosis/iNOS axis as a key intracellular mediator of inflammation-induced cardiac dysfunction. This axis is therapeutically targetable using BRD4 inhibitors, which promoted full recovery of function in human cardiac organoids and prevented severe inflammation and death in a cytokine-storm mouse model. The BRD inhibitor INCB054329 was the most efficacious, and is a prime candidate for drug repurposing to attenuate cardiac dysfunction and improve COVID-19 mortality in humans.
Project description:Acute cardiac injuries occur in 20%–25% of hospitalized COVID‐19 patients. Herein, we demonstrate that human cardiac organoids (hCOs) are a viable platform to model the cardiac injuries caused by COVID‐19 hyperinflammation. As IL‐1β is an upstream cytokine and a core COVID‐19 signature cytokine, it was used to stimulate hCOs to induce the release of a milieu of proinflammatory cytokines that mirror the profile of COVID‐19 cytokine storm. The IL‐1β treated hCOs recapitulated transcriptomic, structural, and functional signatures of COVID‐19 hearts. The comparison of IL‐1β treated hCOs with cardiac tissue from COVID‐19 autopsies illustrated the critical roles of hyper‐inflammation in COVID‐19 cardiac insults and indicated the cardioprotective effects of endothelium. The IL‐1β treated hCOs thus provide a defined and robust model to assess the efficacy and potential side effects of immunomodulatory drugs, as well as the reversibility of COVID‐19 cardiac in- juries at baseline and simulated exercise conditions.
Project description:Kidney organoids are a valuable and innovative model to understand genetic diseases, kidney development and transcriptomic dynamics. However, their proteome has not been analyzed so far. Here, we analyzed the organoid proteome trajectory during differentiation. Genes involved in podocytopathies and cystic kidney diseases were abundantly expressed on protein level, distinguishing organoids from almost every available cell culture model. On their pathway to terminal differentiation, organoids developed increased deposition of extracellular matrix. Single cell transcriptomic analysis suggests that most changes locate to podocytes and early podocyte progenitors. This matrix deposition is different from commonly used animal models of glomerular disease. We grew organoids from two independent batches according to the Freedman protocol, and performed proteomic profiling (Freedman, Brooks et al. 2015, Czerniecki, Cruz et al. 2018). The IPSCs were differentiated for a three-week period until first spheroids from. From day 21 of the culture they were used in our experiments up until day 29, where off-target differentiation of organoids becomes an issue.
Project description:Self-organisation and coordinated morphogenesis of multiple cardiac lineages is essential for the development and function of the heart1-3. However, the absence of a human in vitro model that mimics the basic lineage architecture of the heart hinders research into developmental mechanisms and congenital defects4. Here, we describe the establishment of a reliable, lineage-controlled and high-throughput cardiac organoid platform. We show that cardiac mesoderm derived from human pluripotent stem cells robustly self-organises and differentiates into cardiomyocytes forming a cavity. Co-differentiation of cardiomyocytes and endothelial cells from cardiac mesoderm within these structures is required to form a separate endothelial layer. As in vivo, the epicardium engulfs these cardiac organoids, migrates into the cardiomyocyte layer and differentiates. We use this model to demonstrate that cardiac cavity formation is controlled by a mesodermal WNT-BMP signalling axis. Disruption of one of the key BMP targets in cardiac mesoderm, the transcription factor HAND1, interferes with cavity formation, which is consistent with its role in early heart tube and left chamber development5. Thus, the cardiac organoid platform represents a powerful resource for the quantitative and mechanistic analysis of early human cardiogenesis and defects that are otherwise inaccessible. Beyond understanding congenital heart disease, cardiac organoids provide a foundation for future translational research into human cardiac disorders.
Project description:Chronic endotheliitis and various cardiovascular co-morbidities are more likely to develop in patients who are recovering from a post-acute SARS-CoV-2 infection. Despite a growing body of clinical data suggesting that the endothelium could be the cause of both cardiac injury and the multi-organ damage found in COVID-19 patients, there is no clear link between endothelial (EC) dysfunction and increased cardiac risk during long COVID. Here, we studied long COVID-19-associated endotheliitis and its implications on cardiac dysfunction. Thrombotic vascular tissues from long COVID patients were harvested and profiled to identify the different mechanisms of viral-induced EC pathogenesis. Human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)–derived ECs were leveraged to model endotheliitis in-a-dish after exposure to SARS-CoV-2, which showed similar EC dysfunction and upregulation of specific cytokines such as CCL2 and IL6, as seen in the primary ECs of long COVID patients. 3D fabricated cardiac organoids generated from iPSC-ECs and iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CMs) were utilized to understand the pathological influence of endotheliitis on cardiac dysfunction. Notably, cardiac dysfunction was observed only in cardiac organoids that were fabricated with both iPSC-CMs and iPSC-ECs after exposure to SARS-CoV-2. Simultaneous profiling of chromatin accessibility and gene expression dynamics via integration of ATAC-seq and RNA-seq at a single cell resolution revealed CCL2 as the prime cytokine responsible for the non-endothelial “phenotype switching” and the impending cardiac dysfunction in cardiac organoids. This was further validated by high-throughput proteomics that showed CCL2 to be released only by cardiac organoids that were fabricated with iPSC-CMs and iPSC-ECs after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Lastly, disease modeling of the cardiac organoids as well as exposure of human ACE2 transgenic mice to SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins uncovered a putative mechanism for the cardiac dysfunction involving posttranslational modification of cardiac proteins driven by oxidative stress and inflammation. These results suggest that EC-released cytokines can contribute to the pathogenesis of long COVID-associated cardiac dysfunction, and thus a thorough clinical profiling of vascular health could help identify early signs of heart disease in COVID-19 patients.
Project description:Chronic endotheliitis and various cardiovascular co-morbidities are more likely to develop in patients who are recovering from a post-acute SARS-CoV-2 infection. Despite a growing body of clinical data suggesting that the endothelium could be the cause of both cardiac injury and the multi-organ damage found in COVID-19 patients, there is no clear link between endothelial (EC) dysfunction and increased cardiac risk during long COVID. Here, we studied long COVID-19-associated endotheliitis and its implications on cardiac dysfunction. Thrombotic vascular tissues from long COVID patients were harvested and profiled to identify the different mechanisms of viral-induced EC pathogenesis. Human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)–derived ECs were leveraged to model endotheliitis in-a-dish after exposure to SARS-CoV-2, which showed similar EC dysfunction and upregulation of specific cytokines such as CCL2 and IL6, as seen in the primary ECs of long COVID patients. 3D fabricated cardiac organoids generated from iPSC-ECs and iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CMs) were utilized to understand the pathological influence of endotheliitis on cardiac dysfunction. Notably, cardiac dysfunction was observed only in cardiac organoids that were fabricated with both iPSC-CMs and iPSC-ECs after exposure to SARS-CoV-2. Simultaneous profiling of chromatin accessibility and gene expression dynamics via integration of ATAC-seq and RNA-seq at a single cell resolution revealed CCL2 as the prime cytokine responsible for the non-endothelial “phenotype switching” and the impending cardiac dysfunction in cardiac organoids. This was further validated by high-throughput proteomics that showed CCL2 to be released only by cardiac organoids that were fabricated with iPSC-CMs and iPSC-ECs after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Lastly, disease modeling of the cardiac organoids as well as exposure of human ACE2 transgenic mice to SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins uncovered a putative mechanism for the cardiac dysfunction involving posttranslational modification of cardiac proteins driven by oxidative stress and inflammation. These results suggest that EC-released cytokines can contribute to the pathogenesis of long COVID-associated cardiac dysfunction, and thus a thorough clinical profiling of vascular health could help identify early signs of heart disease in COVID-19 patients.
Project description:Chronic endotheliitis and various cardiovascular co-morbidities are more likely to develop in patients who are recovering from a post-acute SARS-CoV-2 infection. Despite a growing body of clinical data suggesting that the endothelium could be the cause of both cardiac injury and the multi-organ damage found in COVID-19 patients, there is no clear link between endothelial (EC) dysfunction and increased cardiac risk during long COVID. Here, we studied long COVID-19-associated endotheliitis and its implications on cardiac dysfunction. Thrombotic vascular tissues from long COVID patients were harvested and profiled to identify the different mechanisms of viral-induced EC pathogenesis. Human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)–derived ECs were leveraged to model endotheliitis in-a-dish after exposure to SARS-CoV-2, which showed similar EC dysfunction and upregulation of specific cytokines such as CCL2 and IL6, as seen in the primary ECs of long COVID patients. 3D fabricated cardiac organoids generated from iPSC-ECs and iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CMs) were utilized to understand the pathological influence of endotheliitis on cardiac dysfunction. Notably, cardiac dysfunction was observed only in cardiac organoids that were fabricated with both iPSC-CMs and iPSC-ECs after exposure to SARS-CoV-2. Simultaneous profiling of chromatin accessibility and gene expression dynamics via integration of ATAC-seq and RNA-seq at a single cell resolution revealed CCL2 as the prime cytokine responsible for the non-endothelial “phenotype switching” and the impending cardiac dysfunction in cardiac organoids. This was further validated by high-throughput proteomics that showed CCL2 to be released only by cardiac organoids that were fabricated with iPSC-CMs and iPSC-ECs after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Lastly, disease modeling of the cardiac organoids as well as exposure of human ACE2 transgenic mice to SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins uncovered a putative mechanism for the cardiac dysfunction involving posttranslational modification of cardiac proteins driven by oxidative stress and inflammation. These results suggest that EC-released cytokines can contribute to the pathogenesis of long COVID-associated cardiac dysfunction, and thus a thorough clinical profiling of vascular health could help identify early signs of heart disease in COVID-19 patients.