CARDIAC MUSCLE CELLS Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell–Derived Cardiomyocytes Recapitulate the Predilection of Breast Cancer Patients to Doxorubicin-Induced Cardiotoxicity Investigators demonstrated that patient-specific human induced pluripotent stem cell–derived cardiomyocytes can recapitulate the predilection to doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity of individual patients at the cellular level. [Nat Med] Abstract | Press Release Inhibition of Class I Histone Deacetylases Blunts Cardiac Hypertrophy through TSC2-Dependent mTOR Repression Researchers demonstrated through pharmacological and genetic methods that inhibition of class I histone deacetylases suppressed pathological cardiac hypertrophy through inhibition of mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) activity. [Sci Signal] Abstract | Press Release The H19 Long Noncoding RNA Is a Novel Negative Regulator of Cardiomyocyte Hypertrophy Researchers investigated the function and underlying mechanism of H19 in regulating cardiomyocyte hypertrophy. Adenovirus-mediated expression and a siRNA-mediated silence of H19 showed that H19 overexpression reduced cell size both at baseline and in response to PE, whereas knockdown of H19 induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy. [Cardiovasc Res] Abstract SKELETAL MUSCLE CELLS Skeletal Muscle Action of Estrogen Receptor α Is Critical for the Maintenance of Mitochondrial Function and Metabolic Homeostasis in Females Considering that skeletal muscle is a primary tissue responsible for glucose disposal and oxidative metabolism, scientists established that reduced estrogen receptor α expression in muscle is associated with glucose intolerance and adiposity in women and female mice. [Sci Transl Med] Abstract Osteopontin Ablation Ameliorates Muscular Dystrophy by Shifting Macrophages to a Pro-Regenerative Phenotype Investigators demonstrated that the improved dystrophic phenotype observed with osteopontin (OPN) ablation does not result from reductions in natural killer T cells. OPN ablation skews macrophage polarization toward a pro-regenerative phenotype by reducing M1 and M2a and increasing M2c subsets. Altered macrophage polarization correlated with increases in muscle weight and muscle fiber diameter, resulting in long-term improvements in muscle strength and function in mdx mice. [J Cell Biol] Abstract | Press Release The Nanofibrous PAN-PANi Scaffold as an Efficient Substrate for Skeletal Muscle Differentiation Using Satellite Cells The authors report the use of electrospun nanofibrous membrane of PAN-polyaniline (PANi) as efficient scaffold for muscle regeneration. The softer scaffolds of non-composite electrospun nanofibrous PAN govern a higher rate of cell growth in spite of lower differentiation value. [Bioprocess Biosyst Eng] Abstract | Graphical Abstract SMOOTH MUSCLE CELLS In Vivo Functional Evaluation of Tissue Engineered Vascular Grafts Fabricated Using Human Adipose-Derived Stem Cells from High-Cardiovascular Risk Populations To understand whether adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AD-MSCs) sourced from diabetic and elderly donors are as effective as those from young, non-diabetics in the context of tissue-engineered vascular grafts (TEVGs) therapy, researchers implanted TEVGs constructed with human AD-MSCs from each donor type as an aortic interposition graft in a rat model. The TEVGs from non-diabetic donors were able to generate robust vascular-like tissue consisting of smooth muscle cells, endothelial cells, collagen, and elastin. [Tissue Eng Part A] Abstract Peptide Inhibitor of NF-κB Translocation Ameliorates Experimental Atherosclerosis Scientists investigated the anti-inflammatory and atheroprotective effects of a cell-permeable peptide containing the NF-κB nuclear localization sequence (NLS). In vascular smooth muscle cells and macrophages, NLS peptide specifically blocked the importin α–mediated nuclear import of NF-κB and prevented lipopolysaccharide-induced pro-inflammatory gene expression, cell migration, and oxidative stress. [Am J Pathol] Full Article | Press Release In-Depth Evaluation of Commercially Available Human Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells Phenotype: Implications for Vascular Tissue Engineering Investigators evaluated the capacity of commercially available human smooth muscle cells to maintain their contractile phenotype, and determine if dedifferentiation towards the synthetic phenotype occurs in response to conventional cell culture and passaging without any external biochemical or mechanical stimuli. [Exp Cell Res] Abstract |