Biochimica et biophysica acta
-
Biochim. Biophys. Acta · Jul 2016
ReviewHigh throughput physiological screening of iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes for drug development.
Cardiac drug discovery is hampered by the reliance on non-human animal and cellular models with inadequate throughput and physiological fidelity to accurately identify new targets and test novel therapeutic strategies. Similarly, adverse drug effects on the heart are challenging to model, contributing to costly failure of drugs during development and even after market launch. ⋯ Here we review emerging technologies for high throughput measurements of cardiomyocyte physiology, and comment on the promises and challenges of using iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes to model disease and introduce the human context into early stages of drug discovery. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Cardiomyocyte biology: Integration of Developmental and Environmental Cues in the Heart edited by Marcus Schaub and Hughes Abriel.
-
Biochim. Biophys. Acta · Jul 2016
ReviewMaturation status of sarcomere structure and function in human iPSC-derived cardiac myocytes.
Human heart failure due to myocardial infarction is a major health concern. The paucity of organs for transplantation limits curative approaches for the diseased and failing adult heart. Human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiac myocytes (hiPSC-CMs) have the potential to provide a long-term, viable, regenerative-medicine alternative. ⋯ Thus, hiPSC-CMs have several hurdles to overcome before they find their way into translational medicine. In this review, we address the progress that has been made, the void in knowledge and the challenges that remain. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Cardiomyocyte Biology: Integration of Developmental and Environmental Cues in the Heart edited by Marcus Schaub and Hughes Abriel.
-
Biochim. Biophys. Acta · Jul 2016
Similar oxysterols may lead to opposite effects on synaptic transmission: Olesoxime versus 5α-cholestan-3-one at the frog neuromuscular junction.
Cholesterol oxidation products frequently have a high biological activity. In the present study, we have used microelectrode recording of end plate currents and FM-based optical detection of synaptic vesicle exo-endocytosis to investigate the effects of two structurally similar oxysterols, olesoxime (cholest-4-en-3-one, oxime) and 5ɑ-cholestan-3-one (5ɑCh3), on neurotransmission at the frog neuromuscular junction. Olesoxime is an exogenous, potentially neuroprotective, substance and 5ɑCh3 is an intermediate product in cholesterol metabolism, which is elevated in the case of cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis. ⋯ The depressant action of 5ɑCh3 was associated with a reduction in the number of synaptic vesicles participating in exo- and endocytosis during high frequency stimulation, without a change in rate of the synaptic vesicle recycling. Of note, olesoxime increased the staining of synaptic membranes with the B-subunit of cholera toxin and the formation of fluorescent ganglioside GM1 clusters, and decreased the fluorescence of 22-NBD-cholesterol, while 5ɑCh3 had the opposite effects, suggesting that the two oxysterols have different effects on lipid raft stability. Taken together, these data show that these two structurally similar oxysterols induce marked different changes in neuromuscular transmission which are related with the alteration in synaptic vesicle cycle.
-
Biochim. Biophys. Acta · Jul 2016
Cardiomyocytes from human pluripotent stem cells: From laboratory curiosity to industrial biomedical platform.
Cardiomyocytes from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs-CMs) could revolutionise biomedicine. Global burden of heart failure will soon reach USD $90bn, while unexpected cardiotoxicity underlies 28% of drug withdrawals. Advances in hPSC isolation, Cas9/CRISPR genome engineering and hPSC-CM differentiation have improved patient care, progressed drugs to clinic and opened a new era in safety pharmacology. ⋯ Other developments needed for widespread hPSC-CM utility include subtype specification, cost reduction of large scale differentiation and elimination of the phenotyping bottleneck. This review will consider these factors in the evolution of hPSC-CM technologies, as well as their integration into high content industrial platforms that assess structure, mitochondrial function, electrophysiology, calcium transients and contractility. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Cardiomyocyte Biology: Integration of Developmental and Environmental Cues in the Heart edited by Marcus Schaub and Hughes Abriel.
-
Biochim. Biophys. Acta · Jul 2016
Ribosomal protein S6 kinase1 coordinates with TOR-Raptor2 to regulate thylakoid membrane biosynthesis in rice.
Ribosomal protein S6 kinase (S6K) functions as a key component in the target of rapamycin (TOR) pathway involved in multiple processes in eukaryotes. The role and regulation of TOR-S6K in lipid metabolism remained unknown in plants. Here we provide genetic and pharmacological evidence that TOR-Raptor2-S6K1 is important for thylakoid galactolipid biosynthesis and thylakoid grana modeling in rice (Oryza sativa L.). ⋯ A significant reduction in galactolipid content was found in the s6k1, raptor2 mutant or TOR-inhibited plants, which was accompanied by decreased transcript levels of the set of genes such as lipid phosphate phosphatase α5 (LPPα5), MGDG synthase 1 (MGD1), and DGDG synthase 1 (DGD1) involved in galactolipid synthesis, compared to the control plants. Moreover, loss of LPPα5 exhibited a similar phenotype with pale yellow-green leaves. These results suggest that TOR-Raptor2-S6K1 is important for modulating thylakoid membrane lipid biosynthesis, homeostasis, thus enhancing thylakoid grana architecture and normal photosynthesis ability in rice.