Fibroblasts Rendered Antifibrotic, Antiapoptotic, and Angiogenic by Priming With Cardiosphere-Derived Extracellular Membrane Vesicles.

Background: Cardiosphere-derived cells mediate therapeutic regeneration in patients after myocardial infarction and are undergoing further clinical testing for cardiomyopathy. The beneficial effects of cardiosphere-derived cells are mediated by the secretion of exosomes and possibly other extracellular membrane vesicles (EMVs).

Objectives: This study sought to investigate the effect of cardiosphere-derived EMVs (CSp-EMVs) on fibroblasts in vitro and tested whether priming with CSp-EMVs could confer salutary properties on fibroblasts in vivo.

Methods: CSp-EMVs were isolated from serum-free media conditioned for 3 days by cardiospheres. Dermal fibroblasts were primed with CSp-EMVs for 24 h followed by exosomal micro-ribonucleic acid profiling. In vivo, we injected CSp-EMV-primed or -unprimed dermal fibroblasts (or CSp-EMVs) in a chronic rat model of myocardial infarction and defined the functional and structural consequences.

Results: CSp-EMVs amplified their own biological signals: exposure of "inert" fibroblasts to CSp-EMVs rendered the fibroblasts therapeutic. Intramyocardially injected CSp-EMV-primed (but not unprimed) fibroblasts increased global pump function and vessel density while reducing scar mass. CSp-EMV priming caused fibroblasts to secrete much higher levels of stromal-cell-derived factor 1 and vascular endothelial growth factor and dramatically changed the micro-ribonucleic acid profile of fibroblast-secreted EMVs in vitro. The priming was followed by significant angiogenic and cardioprotective effects.

Conclusions: CSp-EMVs alter fibroblast phenotype and secretome in a salutary positive-feedback loop. The phenotypic conversion of inert cells to therapeutically active cells reveals a novel mechanism for amplification of exosome bioactivity.