Overexpression of exogenous lineage-determining factors succeeds in directly reprogramming fibroblasts to various cell types.Several studies have reported reprogramming of fibroblasts into induced cardiac progenitor c...Overexpression of exogenous lineage-determining factors succeeds in directly reprogramming fibroblasts to various cell types.Several studies have reported reprogramming of fibroblasts into induced cardiac progenitor cells(iCPCs).CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene activation is a potential approach for cellular reprogramming due to its high precision and multiplexing capacity.Here we show lineage reprogramming to iCPCs through a dead Cas9(dCas9)-based transcription activation system.Targeted and robust activation of endogenous cardiac factors,including GATA4,HAND2,MEF2 C and TBX5(G,H,M and T;GHMT),can reprogram human fibroblasts toward iCPCs.The iCPCs show potentials to differentiate into cardiomyocytes,smooth muscle cells and endothelial cells in vitro.Addition of MEIS1 to GHMT induces cell cycle arrest in G2/M and facilitates cardiac reprogramming.Lineage reprogramming of human fibroblasts into iCPCs provides a promising cellular resource for disease modeling,drug discovery and individualized cardiac cell therapy.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(grant numbers 81330007 and U1601227 to XiYong Yu,81700382 to Lingmin Zhang)the Science andTechnology Programs of Guangdong Province(grant numbers20158020225006 to Xi-Yong Yu,China).
文摘Overexpression of exogenous lineage-determining factors succeeds in directly reprogramming fibroblasts to various cell types.Several studies have reported reprogramming of fibroblasts into induced cardiac progenitor cells(iCPCs).CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene activation is a potential approach for cellular reprogramming due to its high precision and multiplexing capacity.Here we show lineage reprogramming to iCPCs through a dead Cas9(dCas9)-based transcription activation system.Targeted and robust activation of endogenous cardiac factors,including GATA4,HAND2,MEF2 C and TBX5(G,H,M and T;GHMT),can reprogram human fibroblasts toward iCPCs.The iCPCs show potentials to differentiate into cardiomyocytes,smooth muscle cells and endothelial cells in vitro.Addition of MEIS1 to GHMT induces cell cycle arrest in G2/M and facilitates cardiac reprogramming.Lineage reprogramming of human fibroblasts into iCPCs provides a promising cellular resource for disease modeling,drug discovery and individualized cardiac cell therapy.
