title: MicroRNA-mediated non-viral direct conversion of embryonic fibroblasts to cardiomyocytes: comparison of commercial and synthetic non-viral vectors.
abstract: Technological advances opened up new ways of directing cell fate conversion from one cell lineage to another. The direct cell conversion technique has recently attracted much attention in regenerative medicine to treat devastated organs and tissues, particularly having limited regenerative capacity such as the heart and brain. Unfortunately, its clinical application is severely limited due to a safety concern and immunogenicity of viral vectors, as human gene therapy did in the beginning stages. In this study, we examined the possibility of adopting non-viral vectors to direct cell conversion from mouse embryonic fibroblasts to induced cardiomyocytes (iCM) by transient transfection of four types of chemically synthesized micro-RNA mimics (miRNA-1, 133, 208, and 499). Herein, we tested several commercial and synthetic non-viral gene delivery carriers, which could be divided into three different categories: polymers [branched PEI (bPEI), bioreducible PEI (PEI-SS), deoxycholic acid-conjugated PEI (DA-PEI), jetPEI™, SuperFect™], lipids (Lipofectamine 2000™), and peptides (PepMute™). According to the analyses of physicochemical properties, cellular uptake, and cytotoxicity of the carrier/miRNA complexes, DA-PEI exhibited excellent miRNA delivery efficiency to mouse embryonic fibroblasts. One week after a single treatment of DA-PEI/miRNA without other adjuvants, the cells started to express cardiomyocyte-specific markers, such as α-actinin and α-MHC, indicating the formation of cardiomyocyte-like cells. Although the overall frequency of non-viral vector induced cardiomyogenic transdifferentiation was quite low (ca. 0.2%), this study can provide compelling support to develop clinically applicable transdifferentiation techniques.
authors.affiliation: a Center for Theragnosis, Biomedical Research Institute , Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) , Seoul , South Korea.|b KU-KIST Graduate School of Converging Science and Technology , Korea University , Seoul , South Korea.
authors.forename: Hyosuk
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: a Center for Theragnosis, Biomedical Research Institute , Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) , Seoul , South Korea.
authors.forename: Dongkyu
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: c Technology Convergence R&BD Group , Korea Institute of Industrial Technology , Daegu , South Korea.
authors.forename: Sook Hee
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Ku
authors.affiliation: a Center for Theragnosis, Biomedical Research Institute , Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) , Seoul , South Korea.
authors.forename: Kwangmeyung
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: a Center for Theragnosis, Biomedical Research Institute , Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) , Seoul , South Korea.
authors.forename: Sun Hwa
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: a Center for Theragnosis, Biomedical Research Institute , Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) , Seoul , South Korea.|b KU-KIST Graduate School of Converging Science and Technology , Korea University , Seoul , South Korea.
authors.forename: Ick Chan
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Kwon
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001692:Biological Transport; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian / Q000166:cytology*; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D008055:Lipids / Q000737:chemistry; D051379:Mice; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D032383:Myocytes, Cardiac / Q000166:cytology*; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry; D014162:Transfection
chemical_list: D004337:Drug Carriers; D008055:Lipids; C086724:Lipofectamine; D035683:MicroRNAs; D010455:Peptides; D011108:Polymers
keywords: Non-viral delivery; cardiomyocyte; miRNA; polyethylenimine; transdifferentiation