Muscle Cell News Volume 3.16 | May 7 2018

TOP STORY

UIC Researchers Create Heart Cells to Study AFib

Researchers have discovered a way turn pluripotent stem cells into atrial cells, which make up the upper chambers, or atria, of the heart. The discovery will enable them to better study atrial fibrillation, the most common heart rhythm disorder also known as AFib, which originates in the heart’s atria. [Press release from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) discussing online prepublication in Stem Cell Reports] Press Release | Full Article

(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)

CARDIAC MUSCLE CELLS

Activation of Class I Histone Deacetylases Contributes to Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Cardiomyocytes with Altered Complex Activities

The authors evaluated the role of histone deacetylases (HDACs) in tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)-induced mitochondrial dysfunction and investigated their therapeutic potential and underlying mechanisms. They suggest that Class I HDAC actions contribute to TNF-α-induced mitochondrial dysfunction in cardiomyocytes with altered complex I and II enzyme regulation. [Epigenetics] Abstract

Defective Flux of Thrombospondin-4 through the Secretory Pathway Impairs Cardiomyocyte Membrane Stability and Causes Cardiomyopathy

Investigators generated transgenic mice with cardiac-specific overexpression of a secretion-defective mutant of thrombospondin-4 (Thbs4) to evaluate its exclusive intracellular and secretion-dependent functions. Deletion of Thbs4 in the mdx mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy enhanced cardiomyocyte membrane instability and cardiomyopathy. [Mol Cell Biol] Abstract

Directed Fusion of Cardiac Spheroids into Larger Heterocellular Microtissues Enables Investigation of Cardiac Action Potential Propagation via Cardiac Fibroblasts

Scientists generated scaffold-free 3D cardiac microtissue spheroids comprised of cardiac myocytes (CMs) and/or cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) and used them as building blocks to form larger microtissues with different spatial distributions of CMs and CFs. [PLoS One] Full Article

The Local Microenvironment Limits the Regenerative Potential of the Mouse Neonatal Heart

By comparing the global transcriptomes of one- and two-day-old mouse hearts, researchers found that most differentially expressed transcripts encode extracellular matrix components and structural constituents of the cytoskeleton. [Sci Adv] Abstract | Press Release

SKELETAL MUSCLE CELLS

Large-Scale Expansion of Human iPSC-Derived Skeletal Muscle Cells for Disease Modeling and Cell-Based Therapeutic Strategies

Scientists found that fluorescence-activated cell sorting-purified myogenic progenitors generated from healthy controls and Pompe disease induced pluripotent stem cells can be robustly expanded as much as 5 × 10¹¹-fold. [Stem Cell Reports] Full Article

miR-24 and miR-122 Negatively Regulate the Transforming Growth Factor-β/Smad Signaling Pathway in Skeletal Muscle Fibrosis

Investigators showed that miR-24-3p and miR-122-5p declined in skeletal muscle fibrosis, which was a consequence of transforming growth factor-β. [Mol Ther Nucleic Acids] Full Article | Graphical Abstract

Arginine Promotes Slow Myosin Heavy Chain Expression via Akirin2 and the AMP-Activated Protein Kinase Signaling Pathway in Porcine Skeletal Muscle Satellite Cells

The authors investigated the effect of arginine on the expression of slow myosin heavy chain I and its underlying mechanism in porcine skeletal muscle satellite cells. [J Agric Food Chem] Abstract | Graphical Abstract

SMOOTH MUSCLE CELLS

Resolvin E1 Attenuates Injury-Induced Vascular Neointimal Formation by Inhibition of Inflammatory Responses and Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Migration

Resolvin E1 was found to inhibit vascular neutrophil infiltration, promoted macrophage polarization toward an M2-like phenotype, suppressed T-cell trafficking by reducing RANTES secretion from vascular smooth muscle cells, and inhibited vascular smooth muscle cell migration. [FASEB J] Abstract

Aortic Sca-1⁺ Progenitor Cells Arise from the Somitic Mesoderm Lineage in Mouse

Sca-1⁺ progenitor cells in the adult mouse aorta are known to generate vascular smooth muscle cells, but their embryological origins and temporal abundance are not known. Using tamoxifen-inducible Myf5-Cre^ER mice, investigators demonstrated that Sca-1⁺ adult aortic cells arise from the somitic mesoderm beginning at E8.5 and continue throughout somitogenesis. [Stem Cells Dev] Abstract

Exosomes in Myocardial Repair: Advances and Challenges in the Development of Next-Generation Therapeutics

The authors focus on the latest research and debates on cardiac repair and regenerative potential of exosomes from varieties of sources such as cardiac and non-cardiac stem and progenitor cells, somatic cells and body fluids. [Mol Ther] Abstract

Visit our reviews page to see a complete list of reviews in the muscle cell research field.

Sarepta and Invitae Expand Partnership to Advance Clinical Research in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Invitae Corporation announced the expansion of its partnership with Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc. to assist clinicians in identifying patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. [Invitae Corporation] Press Release

Sarepta Therapeutics Announces Partnership with Myonexus Therapeutics for the Advancement of Multiple Gene Therapy Programs Aimed at Treating Distinct Forms of Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophies

Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc. announced that it has entered into an exclusive partnership with Myonexus Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing transformative gene therapies for various forms of limb-girdle muscular dystrophies. [Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc.] Press Release

Cytokinetics and the ALS Association Renew Partnership to Advance the Fight against ALS

Cytokinetics, Incorporated and The ALS Association announced the continuation of their partnership in the fight against ALS. [Cytokinetics, Inc.] Press Release

Acceleron Receives FDA Fast Track Designation for ACE-083 in Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy

Acceleron Pharma Inc. announced that the FDA has granted Fast Track designation to ACE-083, a locally-acting “Myostatin⁺” muscle agent, for the treatment of patients with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy. [Acceleron Pharma, Inc.] Press Release

Basic Scientists Still Feel Pinch of New NIH Clinical Trial Policy

Basic researchers who study the brain and human behavior thought lawmakers had come to their rescue by blocking the National Institutes of Health (NIH) from redefining their studies as clinical trials. But NIH officials are still pushing ahead with new requirements that scientists say make no sense and will cripple their research. [ScienceInsider] Editorial

Petition Asks National Academy of Sciences to Boot Sexual Harassers

An online petition calling on the National Academy of Sciences to revoke memberships bestowed on people sanctioned for sexual harassment has garnered more than 250 signatures since it was posted. [The Scientist] Editorial

NEW 6^th Annual German Stem Cell Network (GSCN) Conference
September 19-21, 2018
Heidelberg, Germany

Visit our events page to see a complete list of events in the community.

NEW Postdoctoral Research Scientist – Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (University of Oxford)

NEW Postdoctoral Fellow – Human Skeletal Muscle Disease Modeling and Regeneration (Duke University)

NEW Postdoctoral Fellow – hiPSC Based Cardiac Regeneration (Duke University)

Director – Center for Cardiovascular Biology (University of Washington Medical Center)

Faculty – Heart Regeneration and Therapeutics (University of Pittsburgh)

Laboratory Research Scientist – Human Sex Differences in Stem Cell Derived Cardiomyocytes (The Francis Crick Institute)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Cardiovascular Tissue Engineering (Stanford University)

Postdoctoral Research Scientist – Cardiovascular Regenerative Medicine (University of Oxford)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Smooth Muscle Cells (University of Colorado)

Postdoctoral Position – Cancer, Immunotherapy, and Fibrosis (University of Alabama at Birmingham)

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