Fine-tuned KDM1A alternative splicing regulates human cardiomyogenesis through an enzymatic-independent mechanism
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ABSTRACT: Background: The histone demethylase KDM1A is a multi-faceted regulator of critical developmental processes, including mesodermal and cardiac tube formation during mice gastrulation. The fine-tuning of KDM1A splicing has been linked to regulating the transcriptional program of excitable cells such as neurons. However, it is unknown whether modulating the expression of KDM1A isoforms is crucial for the specification and maintenance of cell identity of other cell types sensitive to electrical cues such as the cardiomyocytes. Objective: We investigated the role of ubKDM1A and KDM1A+2a ubiquitous splice variants during cardiomyogenesis and evaluated their impact on the regulation of cardiac differentiation in vitro. Methods and Results: We discovered a temporal modulation of ubKDM1A and KDM1A+2a isoform levels during human and mouse fetal cardiac development. Therefore, we generated human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) exclusively devoid of one or both isoforms and assessed their potential to derive cardiomyocytes. KDM1A depletion severely impaired cardiac differentiation. Conversely, KDM1A+2a-/- hESCs give rise to functional cardiomyocytes, displaying increased beating amplitude and frequency compared to wild-type cells. Transcriptomic profiling revealed that KDM1A-/- cardiomyocytes fail to activate an effective cardiac transcriptional program, while the depletion of KDM1A+2a enhances the expression of key cardiogenic markers. Notably, the impaired cardiac differentiation of KDM1A-/- cells can be rescued by re-expressing ubKDM1A or catalytically deficient ubKDM1A-K661A, but not by KDM1A+2a or KDM1A+2a-K661A. These data demonstrate a divergent role of the two KDM1A isoforms that is independent of their enzymatic activity. Through an exhaustive biochemical and genome-wide binding characterization, we excluded that the opposite ubKDM1A- and KDM1A+2a-mediated regulation of cardiac differentiation resides into differential substrate specificity, H3K4 demethylation efficiency, core-partners binding affinity, or alternative genome binding profiles. Conclusions: Our findings suggest the existence of a divergent scaffolding role of KDM1A splice variants during hESC differentiation into cardiomyocytes.
Project description:Several of the essential core transcriptional control elements in human embryonic stem cells (ESCs) have been identified, but the production and function of alternative isoforms in self-renewal, pluripotency and tissue lineage specification remain largely unknown. We have modified the H9 ESC line to allow for drug selection of human pluripotent ESCs and cardiac progenitors. Exon-level microarray expression data from undifferentiated ESCs and day 40 cardiac precursors were used to identify differentially expressed and alternative splice isoforms during differentiation. Keywords: comparison RNA from a homogenous population of undifferentiated hESCs (REX1-neo promoter drug selection) and differentiated day 40 cardiomyocytes (alpha MHC-puro promoter drug selection) was isolated and profiled with exon-tiling arrays.
Project description:Human cardiomyocytes can be generated from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) in vitro by a variety of methods, including co-culture with visceral endoderm-like cell lines and growth factor directed differentiation as monolayers or three-dimensional embryonic bodies. To enable the identification, purification and characterisation of human embryonic stem cell derived cardiomyocytes (CMs) and cardiac progenitor cells (CPCs), we introduced sequences encoding GFP into the NKX2-5 locus by homologous recombination. We found that NKX2-5GFP hESCs facilitate quantification of cardiac differentiation, purification of hESC-derived committed cardiac progenitor cells and cardiomyocytes and the standardization of differentiation protocols.
Project description:Human embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells (hESCs/iPSCs) are promising cell sources for cardiac regenerative medicine. To realize hESC/iPSC-based cardiac cell therapy, efficient induction, purification, and transplantation methods for cardiomyocytes should be required. Though marker gene transduction or fluorescent-based purification methods were reported, fast, efficient and scalable purification methods with no genetic modification are essential for clinical purposes but have not been established yet. In this study, we used microarrays to detail the global gene program during cardiac differentiation and to identify cardiac-specific cell surface markers. hiPSCs (201B6) were differentiated toward cardiomyocytes using a modified-directed differentiation protocol (high density culture in RPMI+B27-insulin, sequential administration of Activin A 100ng/mL 1 day, BMP4 10ng/mL+bFGF 10ng/mL 4 days, and Dkk1 100ng/mL 2 days). Beating clusters were first observed at day 8-9 and spread by day 11 after Activin A administration. Cardiac troponin-T (cTnT)-positive cells appeared at day 7-8 after induction and were observed in 30-70% of cells at day 11. qPCR and genome-wide analysis reflected differentiation processes from the undifferentiated state to cardiomyocytes. Rapid downregulation of pluripotent stem cell markers such as NANOG and POU5F1 was observed within 2 days of differentiation. Early and cardiac mesodermal genes (T, MESP1, KDR, ISL1) were expressed during day 2-5, and cardiac genes (NKX2-5, MYH6, MYH7, MYL2, and MYL7) were expressed after day 7. We identified VCAM1 as a cardiac-specific cell surface marker by microarray and flow cytometry. Human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs; 201B6) were differentiated toward cardiomyocytes (RPMI+B27 medium supplemented d0-1 Activin A, d1-5 BMP4+bFGF, d5-7 Dkk1). RNA was extracted from cells at day 0, day 2, day 5, day 7, day 9, and day 11. Cardiomyocytes appeared after day 7 and reached about 50% of total cells at day 11.
Project description:We discovered induction of circular RNA in human fetal tissues, including the heart. In this study, we were able to recapitulate this induction by in vitro directed differentiation of hESCs to cardiomyocytes, paving the way for future studies into circular RNA regulation. We harvested hESCs at sequential stages of differentiation: undifferentiated (day 0), mesoderm (day 2), cardiac progenitor (day 5) and definitive cardiomyocyte (day 14). We performed RNA sequencing in biological triplicate, with 3-8 technical replicates each.
Project description:We sequenced mRNA from cardiomyocytes derived from hESCS in vitro. By using the Cas9n, we generated the QKI null hESCs. The gene expression level and alternative splicing events were compared between 4 control and 4 QkI KO samples. Here, we applied a widely used cardiomyocyte differentiation protocol that was reported to produce a population of more than 90% cardiac troponin T (TNNT2)-positive cardiomyocytes. And we are able to demonstrate that QKI is indespensible to cardiac sarcomerogenesis and cardiac function through its regulation of alternative splicing in genes involved in Z-disc formation, such as ACTN2, NEBL, ABLIM1, and PDLIM5.
Project description:Several of the essential core transcriptional control elements in human embryonic stem cells (ESCs) have been identified, but the production and function of alternative isoforms in self-renewal, pluripotency and tissue lineage specification remain largely unknown. We have modified the H9 ESC line to allow for drug selection of human pluripotent ESCs and cardiac progenitors. Exon-level microarray expression data from undifferentiated ESCs and day 40 cardiac precursors were used to identify differentially expressed and alternative splice isoforms during differentiation. Keywords: comparison
Project description:Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) can be used to generate scalable numbers of cardiomyocytes for studying cardiac biology, disease modeling, drug screens, and potentially for regenerative therapies. Directed differentiation protocols for cardiomyocytes using hESCs are well established, but methods to isolate highly pure population of cardiomyocytes are limited. Reporter cell lines can be valuable for purification and visualization of cells for such applications. We used CRISPR/Cas9 in hESCs to place an mCherry reporter gene into the MYH6 locus, facilitating a simple method to purify cardiomyocytes. MYH6:mCherry positive cells express atrial and ventricular markers and display a range of cardiomyocyte action potential morphologies. At 20 days of differentiation, MYH6:mCherry+ cells show features characteristic of human cardiomyocytes and can be used successfully to monitor drug-induced cardiotoxicity and oleic acid-induced cardiomyocyte arrhythmia. The MYH6:mCherry hESC reporter line should serve as a useful tool for disease modeling and drug development relevant to cardiomyocyte biology.
Project description:To examine the protein spatial and temporal changes upon carfilzomib-mediated proteasome inhibition in cardiac cells, we produced human iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes using a standard small molecule based protocol. Cardiomyocyte identity was confirmed by morphology, observation of contraction, and the presence of GFP tagged MLC-2a in the reporter line. We then applied the SPLAT protocol to untreated and carfilzomib-exposed iPSC-cardiomyocytes.
Project description:To examine the protein spatial and temporal changes upon carfilzomib-mediated proteasome inhibition in cardiac cells, we produced human iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes using a standard small molecule based protocol. Cardiomyocyte identity was confirmed by morphology, observation of contraction, and the presence of GFP tagged MLC-2a in the reporter line. We then applied the SPLAT protocol to untreated and carfilzomib-exposed iPSC-cardiomyocytes.
Project description:In hESCs, Wnt3/β-catenin activity is low and Activin/SMAD signaling ensures NANOG expression to sustain pluripotency. In response to exogenous Wnt3 effectors, Activin/SMADs switch to cooperate with β-catenin and induce mesendodermal differentiation genes. We show here that the HIPPO effector YAP binds to the WNT3 gene enhancer and prevents the gene from being induced by Activin in proliferating hESCs. In the absence of YAP, Activin signaling is sufficient to induce expression of the endogenous Wnt3 cytokine, which stabilizes β-catenin and selectively activates genes required for cardiac mesoderm (ME) formation. Interestingly, Activin-stimulated YAP-knockout hESCs strongly express β-catenin-dependent cardiac mesoderm markers (BAF60c and HAND1), but unlike WT hESCs, fail to express cardiac inhibitor genes (CDX2, MSX1). Accordingly, YAP-/- cells treated with Activin alone can differentiate efficiently to beating cardiomyocytes in culture, bypassing the need for sequential treatment with exogenous Wnt ligand and Wnt inhibitors. Similarly, Activin in combination with small-molecule YAP inhibitors generates beating cardiomyocytes from wild-type hESCs following a one- step protocol. Our findings highlight an unanticipated role of YAP as an upstream regulator of WNT3 to maintain hESC pluripotency in the presence of Activin, and uncover a direct route for the development of human embryonic cardiac mesoderm.