No abstract

Cardiosphere-derived cell exosomes delivered IM decrease scarring, halt adverse remodelling and improve LVEF in porcine AMI and CMI. While conceptually attractive as cell-free therapeutic agents for myocardial infarction, exosomes have the disadvantage that IM delivery is necessary.

Cardiosphere‐derived cells (CDCs) reduce myocardial infarct size via secreted extracellular vesicles (CDC‐EVs), including exosomes, which alter macrophage polarization. We questioned whether short non‐coding RNA species of unknown function within CDC‐EVs contribute to cardioprotection. The most abundant RNA species in CDC‐EVs is a Y RNA fragment (EV‐YF1); its relative abundance in CDC‐EVs correlates with CDC potency in vivo. Fluorescently labeled EV‐YF1 is actively transferred from CDCs to target macrophages via CDC‐EVs. Direct transfection of macrophages with EV‐YF1 induced transcription and secretion of IL‐10. When cocultured with rat cardiomyocytes, EV‐YF1‐primed macrophages were potently cytoprotective toward oxidatively stressed cardiomyocytes through induction of IL‐10. In vivo, intracoronary injection of EV‐YF1 following ischemia/reperfusion reduced infarct size. A fragment of Y RNA, highly enriched in CDC‐EVs, alters Il10 gene expression and enhances IL‐10 protein secretion. The demonstration that EV‐YF1 confers cardioprotection highlights the potential importance of diverse exosomal contents of unknown function, above and beyond the usual suspects (e.g., microRNAs and proteins).

No abstract

Perfusion culture of osteoprogenitor cells seeded within porous scaffolds suitable for bone tissue engineering is known to enhance deposition of a bone-like extracellular matrix, and the underlying mechanism is thought to involve flow-induced activation of mechanotransductive signaling pathways. Basic studies have shown that mechanotransduction is enhanced by impulse flow and may be mediated through autocrine signaling pathways. To test this, an intermittent flow regimen (5 min on/5 min off ) that exerts impulses on adherent cells and permits accumulation of secreted factors in the cell microenvironment was compared to continuous flow for its ability to stimulate phosphorylation of ERK and p38, synthesis of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), and expression of mRNA for collagen 1alpha1 (Col-1alpha1), osteopontin (OPN), bone sialoprotein (BSP), and osteocalcin (OCN). Studies were performed using bone marrow stromal cells cultured in osteogenic media, and parallel-plate flow chambers were used to exert a shear stress of 2.3 dyn/cm2 on cell layers. Results show that continuous flow significantly enhanced phosphorylation of ERK and p38 after 30 min relative to intermittent flow, while intermittent flow significantly increased accumulation of PGE2 in the circulating medium by 24 h relative to continuous flow. Neither continuous nor intermittent flow affected mRNA expression of Col-1alpha1 and OPN after 4 h, but when monolayers were stimulated for 24 h and then allowed to differentiate under static conditions for an additional 13 days, expression of Col-1alpha1, OPN, BSP, and OCN under continuous and intermittent flow was similar and significantly elevated relative to static controls. This study demonstrates that the variation of perfusion regimen modulates mechanotransductive signaling.