Human embryonic stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hESC-CMs) show considerable promise for regenerating injured hearts, and we therefore tested their capacity to stably engraft in a translationally relevant preclinical model, the infarcted pig heart. Transplantation of immature hESC-CMs resulted in substantial myocardial implants within the infarct scar that matured over time, formed vascular networks with the host, and evoked minimal cellular rejection. While arrhythmias were rare in infarcted pigs receiving vehicle alone, hESC-CM recipients experienced frequent monomorphic ventricular tachycardia before reverting back to normal sinus rhythm by 4 weeks post transplantation. Electroanatomical mapping and pacing studies implicated focal mechanisms, rather than macro-reentry, for these graft-related tachyarrhythmias as evidenced by an abnormal centrifugal pattern with earliest electrical activation in histologically confirmed graft tissue. These findings demonstrate the suitability of the pig model for the preclinical development of a hESC-based cardiac therapy and provide new insights into the mechanistic basis of electrical instability following hESC-CM transplantation.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.stemcr.2019.04.005 | DOI Listing |
Nat Commun
December 2024
KU Leuven Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Virology, Antiviral Drug & Vaccine Research Group, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Leuven, Belgium.
The 2015-2016 Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreak in the Americas revealed the ability of ZIKV from the Asian lineage to cause birth defects, generically called congenital Zika syndrome (CZS). Notwithstanding the long circulation history of Asian ZIKV, no ZIKV-associated CZS cases were reported prior to the outbreaks in French Polynesia (2013) and Brazil (2015). Whether the sudden emergence of CZS resulted from an evolutionary event of Asian ZIKV has remained unclear.
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December 2024
Department of Genetics, Yale University, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, 06510, CT, USA.
The cis-regulatory elements encoded in an mRNA determine its stability and translational output. While there has been a considerable effort to understand the factors driving mRNA stability, the regulatory frameworks governing translational control remain more elusive. We have developed a novel massively parallel reporter assay (MPRA) to measure mRNA translation, named Nascent Peptide Translating Ribosome Affinity Purification (NaP-TRAP).
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December 2024
Department of Medicine, Columbia Center for Human Development and Stem Cell Therapies, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
Pluripotent stem cells possess a unique nuclear architecture characterized by a larger nucleus and more open chromatin, which underpins their ability to self-renew and differentiate. Here, we show that the nucleolus-specific RNA helicase DDX18 is essential for maintaining the pluripotency of human embryonic stem cells. Using techniques such as Hi-C, DNA/RNA-FISH, and biomolecular condensate analysis, we demonstrate that DDX18 regulates nucleolus phase separation and nuclear organization by interacting with NPM1 in the granular nucleolar component, driven by specific nucleolar RNAs.
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December 2024
Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA.
Although respiratory symptoms are the most prevalent disease manifestation of infection by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), nearly 20% of hospitalized patients are at risk for thromboembolic events. This prothrombotic state is considered a key factor in the increased risk of stroke, which is observed clinically during both acute infection and long after symptoms clear. Here, we develop a model of SARS-CoV-2 infection using human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived endothelial cells (ECs), pericytes (PCs), and smooth muscle cells (SMCs) to recapitulate the vascular pathology associated with SARS-CoV-2 exposure.
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December 2024
College of Life Sciences, Inner Mongolia Agriculture University, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, P. R. China.
Zika virus (ZIKV) infection can result in a birth defect of the brain called microcephaly and other severe fetal brain defects. ZIKV enters the susceptible host cells by endocytosis, which is mediated by the interaction of the envelope (E) glycoprotein with cellular surface receptor molecules. However, the cellular factors that used by the ZIKV to gain access to host cells remains elusive.
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