Background Despite numerous studies demonstrating efficacy of cellular adoptive transfer for therapeutic myocardial regeneration, problems remain for donated cells with regard to survival, persistence, engraftment, and long-term benefits. This study redresses these concerns by enhancing the regenerative potential of adoptively transferred cardiac progenitor cells (CPCs) via genetic engineering to overexpress Pim-1, a cardioprotective kinase that enhances cell survival and proliferation. Methods and Results Intramyocardial injections of CPCs overexpressing Pim-1 were given to infarcted female mice. Animals were monitored over 4, 12, and 32-weeks to assess cardiac function and engraftment of Pim-1 CPCs using echocardiography, in vivo hemodynamics, and confocal imagery. CPCs overexpressing Pim-1 show increased proliferation and expression of markers consistent with cardiogenic lineage commitment following dexamethasone exposure in vitro. Animals that received CPCs overexpressing Pim-1 also produce greater levels of cellular engraftment, persistence, and functional improvement relative to control CPCs up to 32-weeks post-delivery. Salutary effects include reduction of infarct size, greater number of c-kit+ cells, and increased vasculature in the damaged region. Conclusions Myocardial repair is significantly enhanced by genetic engineering of CPCs using Pim-1 kinase. Ex vivo gene delivery to enhance cellular survival, proliferation, and regeneration may overcome current limitations of stem cell-based therapeutic approaches.

One of the greatest examples of integrated signal transduction is revealed by examination of effects mediated by AKT kinase in myocardial biology. Positioned at the intersection of multiple afferent and efferent signals, AKT exemplifies a molecular sensing node that coordinates dynamic responses of the cell in literally every aspect of biological responses. The balanced and nuanced nature of homeostatic signaling is particularly essential within the myocardial context, where regulation of survival, energy production, contractility, and response to pathological stress all flow through the nexus of AKT activation or repression. Equally important, the loss of regulated AKT activity is primarily the cause or consequence of pathological conditions leading to remodeling of the heart and eventual decompensation. This review presents an overview compendium of the complex world of myocardial AKT biology gleaned from more than a decade of research. Summarization of the widespread influence that AKT exerts upon myocardial responses leaves no doubt that the participation of AKT in molecular signaling will need to be reckoned with as a seemingly omnipresent regulator of myocardial molecular biological responses.

Objective Enhancement of human cardiac progenitor cell (hCPC) reparative and regenerative potential by genetic modification for treatment of myocardial infarction. Background Regenerative potential of stem cells to repair acute infarction is limited. Improved hCPC survival, proliferation and differentiation into functional myocardium will increase efficacy and advance translational implementation of cardiac regeneration. Methods hCPCs isolated from myocardium of heart failure patients undergoing left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation are engineered to express green fluorescent protein (GFP; hCPCe) or Pim-1-GFP (hCPCeP). Functional tests of hCPC regenerative potential are performed with immunocompromised mice by intramyocardial adoptive transfer injection after infarction. Myocardial structure and function is monitored by echocardiographic and hemodynamic assessment for 20 weeks following delivery. hCPCe and hCPCeP expressing luciferase are followed by bioluminesence imaging (BLI) to non-invasively track persistence. Results hCPCeP exhibit augmentation of reparative potential relative to hCPCe control cells as demonstrated by significantly increased proliferation coupled with amelioration of infarction injury and increased hemodynamic performance at 20 weeks post-transplantation. Concurrent with enhanced cardiac structure and function, hCPCeP demonstrate increased cellular engraftment and differentiation with improved vasculature and reduced infarct size. Enhanced persistence of hCPCeP versus hCPCe is revealed by BLI at up to 8 weeks post delivery. Conclusion Genetic engineering of hCPCs with Pim-1 enhances repair of damaged myocardium. Ex vivo gene delivery to modify stem cells has emerged as a viable option addressing current limitations in the field. This study demonstrates that efficacy of human CPCs from the failing myocardium can be safely and significantly enhanced through expression of Pim-1 kinase, setting the stage for use of engineered cells in preclinical settings.

We demonstrated that miR-200c directly targets SIRT1, eNOS, and FOXO1; via this mechanism, miR-200c decreased NO and increased the acetylation of SIRT1 targets, that is, FOXO1 and p53. FOXO1 acetylation inhibited its transcriptional activity on target genes, that is, SIRT1 and the ROS scavengers, catalase and manganese superoxide dismutase. In keeping, miR-200c increased ROS production and induced p66Shc protein phosphorylation in Ser-36; this mechanism upregulated ROS and inhibited FOXO1 transcription, reinforcing this molecular circuitry. These in vitro results were validated in three in vivo models of oxidative stress, that is, human skin fibroblasts from old donors, femoral arteries from old mice, and a murine model of hindlimb ischemia. In all cases, miR-200c was higher versus control and its targets, that is, SIRT1, eNOS, and FOXO1, were downmodulated. In the mouse hindlimb ischemia model, anti-miR-200c treatment rescued these targets and improved limb perfusion. Innovation and Conclusion: miR-200c disrupts SIRT1/FOXO1/eNOS regulatory loop. This event promotes ROS production and decreases NO, contributing to endothelial dysfunction under conditions of increased oxidative stress such as aging and ischemia. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 27, 328-344.