Basic Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Stem Cells. Aug 26, 2023; 15(8): 821-841
Published online Aug 26, 2023. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v15.i8.821
Wnt signaling pathway inhibitor promotes mesenchymal stem cells differentiation into cardiac progenitor cells in vitro and improves cardiomyopathy in vivo
Rabbia Muneer, Rida-e-Maria Qazi, Abiha Fatima, Waqas Ahmad, Asmat Salim, Luciana Dini, Irfan Khan
Rabbia Muneer, Rida-e-Maria Qazi, Abiha Fatima, Waqas Ahmad, Asmat Salim, Irfan Khan, Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research, International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi, Karachi 75270, Sindh, Pakistan
Luciana Dini, Department of Biology and Biotechnologies Charles Darwin, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome 00185, Italy
Author contributions: Muneer R performed experiments and wrote the original manuscript; Qazi R, Fatima A, and Ahmad W helped in experimentation and writing; Salim A evaluated and analyzed the data, and reviewed the manuscript; Dini L evaluated and analyzed the data; Khan I conceived and designed the studies, evaluated and analyzed the data, and finalized the manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: The independent ethical committee of PCMD, ICCBS, University of Karachi, for human subjects has approved the protocol, No. ICCBS/IEC-067-HT/UCB-2021/Protocol/1.0.
Institutional animal care and use committee statement: Ethical approval for the use of animals was obtained from the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee at the PCMD, ICCBS, University of Karachi with protocol number 2021-006.
Informed consent statement: Informed consent was obtained from the donor.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Authors declare no conflict of interest.
Data sharing statement: No additional data to share.
ARRIVE guidelines statement: The authors have read the ARRIVE guidelines, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the ARRIVE guidelines.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Irfan Khan, PhD, Assistant Professor, Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research, International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi, University Road, Karachi 75270, Sindh, Pakistan. khan@iccs.edu
Received: March 26, 2023
Peer-review started: March 26, 2023
First decision: May 17, 2023
Revised: May 31, 2023
Accepted: July 3, 2023
Article in press: July 3, 2023
Published online: August 26, 2023
Processing time: 151 Days and 23.6 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Cardiovascular diseases particularly myocardial infarction (MI) are the leading cause of mortality and morbidity around the globe. As cardiac tissue possesses very limited regeneration potential, therefore use of a potent small molecule, inhibitor Wnt production-4 (IWP-4) for stem cell differentiation into cardiomyocytes could be a promising approach for cardiac regeneration. Wnt pathway inhibitors may help stem cells in their fate determination towards cardiomyogenic lineage and provide better homing and survival of cells in vivo. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) derived from the human umbilical cord have the potential to regenerate cardiac tissue, as they are easy to isolate and possess multilineage differentiation capability. IWP-4 may promote the differentiation of MSCs into the cardiac lineage.

AIM

To evaluate the cardiac differentiation ability of IWP-4 and its subsequent in vivo effects.

METHODS

Umbilical cord tissue of human origin was utilized to isolate the MSCs which were characterized by their morphology, immunophenotyping of surface markers specific to MSCs, as well as by tri-lineage differentiation capability. Cytotoxicity analysis was performed to identify the optimal concentration of IWP-4. MSCs were treated with 5 μM IWP-4 at two different time intervals. Differentiation of MSCs into cardiomyocytes was evaluated at DNA and protein levels. The MI rat model was developed. IWP-4 treated as well as untreated MSCs were implanted in the MI model, then the cardiac function was analyzed via echocardiography. MSCs were labeled with 1,1′-dioctadecyl-3,3,3′,3′-tetramethylindocarbocyanine perchlorate (DiI) dye for tracking, while the regeneration of infarcted myocardium was examined by histology and immunohistochemistry.

RESULTS

MSCs were isolated and characterized. Cytotoxicity analysis showed that IWP-4 was non-cytotoxic at 5 μM concentration. Cardiac specific gene and protein expression analyses exhibited more remarkable results in fourteen days treated group that was eventually selected for in vivo transplantation. Cardiac function was restored in the IWP-4 treated group in comparison to the MI group. Immunohistochemical analysis confirmed the homing of pre-differentiated MSCs that were labeled with DiI cell labeling dye. Histological analysis confirmed the significant reduction in fibrotic area, and improved left ventricular wall thickness in IWP-4 treated MSC group.

CONCLUSION

Treatment of MSCs with IWP-4 inhibits Wnt pathway and promotes cardiac differentiation. These pre-conditioned MSCs transplanted in vivo improved cardiac function by cell homing, survival, and differentiation at the infarcted region, increased left ventricular wall thickness, and reduced infarct size.

Keywords: Myocardial infarction; Inhibitor Wnt production-4; Differentiation; Mesenchymal stem cells; Wnt pathway; Cardiac function

Core Tip: This study highlights the role of Wnt signaling pathway in the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) into cardiac progenitor cells and the therapeutic potential of MSCs conditioned with inhibitor Wnt production-4 (IWP-4) for the treatment of heart disease. Further studies are required to comprehend the mode of action of IWP-4 on MSCs and to assess its potency and safety in human clinical trials. Nevertheless, this research is an exciting step forward for new treatments for heart diseases and is more focused on the importance of continued investment in the development of innovative therapies for this devastating condition.