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Rationale Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) can form cardiomyocytes when cultured under differentiation conditions. Although the initiating step of mesoderm formation is well characterized, the subsequent steps that enrich for cardiac lineages are poorly understood and limit the yield of cardiomyocytes. Objective Our aim was to develop a hESC-based high content screening (HCS) assay to discover small molecules that drive cardiogenic differentiation after mesoderm is established to improve our understanding of the biology. Screening of libraries of small molecule pathway modulators was predicted to provide insight into the cellular proteins and signaling pathways that control stem cell cardiogenesis. Methods and results About 550 known pathway modulators were screened in a HCS assay with hits being called out by the appearance of a red fluorescent protein driven by the promoter of the cardiac specific MYH6 gene. One potent small molecule was identified that inhibits transduction of the canonical Wnt response within the cell, demonstrating that Wnt inhibition alone is sufficient for deriving cardiomyocytes from hESC originating mesoderm cells. Transcriptional profiling of inhibitor-treated compared to vehicle-treated samples further indicated that inhibition of Wnt does not induce other mesoderm lineages. Notably, several other Wnt inhibitors are very efficient in inducing cardiogenesis, including a molecule that prevents Wnts from being secreted by the cell, confirming Wnt inhibition as the relevant biological activity. Conclusions Pharmacological inhibition of Wnt signaling is sufficient to drive human mesoderm cells to form cardiomyocytes, yielding novel tools for the benefit of pharmaceutical and clinical applications.

In this extensive study, real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction was used to analyze the expression levels of all 19 Wnt genes and their 11 potential antagonists in mouse blastocysts, pregastrula, gastrula, and neurula stages. By complementing these results with in situ hybridization, we revealed new expression domains for Wnt2b and Sfrp1, respectively, in the future primitive streak at the posterior side and in the anterior visceral endoderm before the initiation of gastrulation. Moreover, the anterior visceral endoderm expresses three secreted Wnt antagonists (Sfrp1, Sfrp5, and Dkk1) in partially overlapping domains. We also identified expression patterns for the Wnt1, Wnt3a, Wnt6, Wnt7b, Wnt9a, Wnt10b, and Sfrp1 genes at the blastocyst stage. In particular, the expression of Wnt1 and Sfrp1 predominantly in the inner cell mass and of Wnt9a in the mural trophoblast and inner cell mass cells surrounding the blastocoele suggests new roles for the Wnt pathway in preimplantation development. This article is the first report on the regional expression of Wnt genes in the mouse blastocyst.