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Background: Diabetic foot ulcers (DFU) pose a significant health risk in diabetic patients, with insufficient revascularization during wound healing being the primary cause. This study aimed to assess microvessel sprouting and wound healing capabilities using vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF-A) and a modified fibroblast growth factor (FGF1). Methods: An ex vivo aortic ring rodent model and an in vivo wound healing model in diabetic mice were employed to evaluate the microvessel sprouting and wound healing capabilities of VEGF-A and a modified FGF1 both as monotherapies and in combination. Results: The combination of VEGF-A and FGF1 demonstrated increased vascular sprouting in the ex vivo mouse aortic ring model, and topical administration of a combination of VEGF-A and FGF1 mRNAs formulated in lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) in mouse skin wounds promoted faster wound closure and increased neovascularization seven days post-surgical wound creation. RNA-sequencing analysis of skin samples at day three post-wound creation revealed a strong transcriptional response of the wound healing process, with the combined treatment showing significant enrichment of genes linked to skin growth. Conclusion: f-LNPs encapsulating VEGF-A and FGF1 mRNAs present a promising approach to improving the scarring process in DFU., CC BY 4.0 DEED© 2024 by the authors.Correspondence Address: S. Tejedor; Research and Early Development, Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism (CVRM), BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Gothenburg, 431 50, Sweden; email: sandra.tejedorgascon1@astrazeneca.com; K. Hansson; Research and Early Development, Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism (CVRM), BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Gothenburg, 431 50, Sweden; email: kenny.m.hansson@astrazeneca.comThis research was partially funded by grants from the Swedish Knowledge Foundation, grant number 20200014.

Small extracellular vesicles (sEV) derived from various cell sources have been demonstrated to enhance cardiac function in preclinical models of myocardial infarction (MI). The aim of this study was to compare different sources of sEV for cardiac repair and determine the most effective one, which nowadays remains limited. We comprehensively assessed the efficacy of sEV obtained from human primary bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells (BM-MSC), human immortalized MSC (hTERT-MSC), human embryonic stem cells (ESC), ESC-derived cardiac progenitor cells (CPC), human ESC-derived cardiomyocytes (CM), and human primary ventricular cardiac fibroblasts (VCF), in in vitro models of cardiac repair. ESC-derived sEV (ESC-sEV) exhibited the best pro-angiogenic and anti-fibrotic effects in vitro. Then, we evaluated the functionality of the sEV with the most promising performances in vitro, in a murine model of MI-reperfusion injury (IRI) and analysed their RNA and protein compositions. In vivo, ESC-sEV provided the most favourable outcome after MI by reducing adverse cardiac remodelling through down-regulating fibrosis and increasing angiogenesis. Furthermore, transcriptomic, and proteomic characterizations of sEV derived from hTERT-MSC, ESC, and CPC revealed factors in ESC-sEV that potentially drove the observed functions. In conclusion, ESC-sEV holds great promise as a cell-free treatment for promoting cardiac repair following MI., CC BY 4.0 DEED© 2024 AstraZeneca R&D and The Authors. Journal of Extracellular Vesicles published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Society for Extracellular Vesicles.Correspondence Address: H. González-King; Research and Early Development, Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Mölndal, Sweden; email: hernan.gonzalez-king@astrazeneca.com; K. Jennbacken; Research and Early Development, Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Mölndal, Sweden; email: Karin.jennbacken@astrazeneca.comFunding information: Högskolan i Skövde, Grant/Award Number: grant# 20200014The authors of this manuscript acknowledge AstraZeneca early CVRM Cardiovascular for their resource management, to JohnLiddle and Stefan Geschwindner from AstraZeneca postdoc committee for their advice, to AstraZeneca Animal Sciences & Technologies staff for their in vivo support, to Märta Jansson for performing the flow cytometric characterization of cardiac progenitor cells and to Elisa Lázaro and Olga Shatnyeva from the exosome team in AstraZeneca for input and facilitating a smooth introduction to AstraZeneca’s exosome research, to the National Genomics Infrastructure in Stockholm funded by Science for Life Laboratory, the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation and the Swedish Research Council, and SNIC/Uppsala Multidisciplinary Center for Advanced Computational Science for assistance with massively parallel sequencing and access to the UPPMAX computational infrastructure. We also thank M. Soriano at the core facility of electron microscopy-Centro de Investigación Príncipe Felipe. This manuscript was edited at Life Science Editors. This work was supported by the University of Skövde under grants from the Swedish Knowledge foundation [grant # 20200014].

Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) are currently used to transport functional mRNAs, such as COVID-19 mRNA vaccines. The delivery of angiogenic molecules, such as therapeutic VEGF-A mRNA, to ischemic tissues for producing new blood vessels is an emerging strategy for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Here, the authors deliver VEGF-A mRNA via LNPs and study stoichiometric quantification of their uptake kinetics and how the transport of exogenous LNP-mRNAs between cells is functionally extended by cells’ own vehicles called extracellular vesicles (EVs). The results show that cellular uptake of LNPs and their mRNA molecules occurs quickly, and that the translation of exogenously delivered mRNA begins immediately. Following the VEGF-A mRNA delivery to cells via LNPs, a fraction of internalized VEGF-A mRNA is secreted via EVs. The overexpressed VEGF-A mRNA is detected in EVs secreted from three different cell types. Additionally, RNA-Seq analysis reveals that as cells’ response to LNP-VEGF-A mRNA treatment, several overexpressed proangiogenic transcripts are packaged into EVs. EVs are further deployed to deliver VEGF-A mRNA in vitro and in vivo. Upon equal amount of VEGF-A mRNA delivery via three EV types or LNPs in vitro, EVs from cardiac progenitor cells are the most efficient in promoting angiogenesis per amount of VEGF-A protein produced. Intravenous administration of luciferase mRNA shows that EVs could distribute translatable mRNA to different organs with the highest amounts of luciferase detected in the liver. Direct injections of VEGF-A mRNA (via EVs or LNPs) into mice heart result in locally produced VEGF-A protein without spillover to liver and circulation. In addition, EVs from cardiac progenitor cells cause minimal production of inflammatory cytokines in cardiac tissue compared with all other treatment types. Collectively, the data demonstrate that LNPs transform EVs as functional extensions to distribute therapeutic mRNA between cells, where EVs deliver this, CC BY 4.0© 2023 The Authors. Advanced Science published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.E-mail: hadi.valadi@gu.seThe authors acknowledge the support from the National Genomics Infrastructure in Stockholm funded by Science for Life (SciLife) Laboratory, the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation and the Swedish Research Council, and SNIC/Uppsala Multidisciplinary Center for Advanced Computational Science for assistance with massively parallel sequencing and access to the UPPMAX computational infrastructure. Moreover, the authors acknowledge Mr. Mario Soriano Navarro at the Responsable Servicio Microscopía Electrónica, Valencia Spain, for technical assistance. This work was supported by grants from the Swedish Foundation of Strategic Research (Stiftelsen för strategisk forskning: SSF) in the Industrial Research Centre, FoRmulaEx - Nucleotide Functional Drug Delivery (Grant ID: IRC15-0065), the Swedish research council (VR, Grant ID: 2020-01316), and the Swedish governmental agency for innovation systems (VINNOVA, Grant ID: 2017-02960). This research was also funded by the Systems Biology Research Centre at the University of Skövde under grants from the Knowledge Foundation (Grant ID: 20160330).

Heart regeneration is an unmet clinical need, hampered by limited renewal of adult cardiomyocytes and fibrotic scarring. Pluripotent stem cell-based strategies are emerging, but unravelling cellular dynamics of host–graft crosstalk remains elusive. Here, by combining lineage tracing and single-cell transcriptomics in injured non-human primate heart biomimics, we uncover the coordinated action modes of human progenitor-mediated muscle repair. Chemoattraction via CXCL12/CXCR4 directs cellular migration to injury sites. Activated fibroblast repulsion targets fibrosis by SLIT2/ROBO1 guidance in organizing cytoskeletal dynamics. Ultimately, differentiation and electromechanical integration lead to functional restoration of damaged heart muscle. In vivo transplantation into acutely and chronically injured porcine hearts illustrated CXCR4-dependent homing, de novo formation of heart muscle, scar-volume reduction and prevention of heart failure progression. Concurrent endothelial differentiation contributed to graft neovascularization. Our study demonstrates that inherent developmental programmes within cardiac progenitors are sequentially activated in disease, enabling the cells to sense and counteract acute and chronic injury.

Objective: After myocardial infarction (MI), the non-infarcted left ventricle (LV) ensures appropriate contractile function of the heart. Metabolic disturbance in this region greatly exacerbates post-MI heart failure (HF) pathology. This study aimed to provide a comprehensive understanding of the metabolic derangements occurring in the non-infarcted LV that could trigger cardiovascular deterioration. Methods and Results: We used a pig model that progressed into chronic HF over 3 months following MI induction. Integrated gene and metabolite signatures revealed region-specific perturbations in amino acid- and lipid metabolism, insulin signaling and, oxidative stress response. Remote LV, in particular, showed impaired glutamine and arginine metabolism, altered synthesis of lipids, glucose metabolism disorder, and increased insulin resistance. LPIN1, PPP1R3C, PTPN1, CREM, and NR0B2 were identified as the main effectors in metabolism dysregulation in the remote zone and were found differentially expressed also in the myocardium of patients with ischemic and/or dilated cardiomyopathy. In addition, a simultaneous significant decrease in arginine levels and altered PRCP, PTPN1, and ARF6 expression suggest alterations in vascular function in remote area. Conclusions: This study unravels an array of dysregulated genes and metabolites putatively involved in maladaptive metabolic and vascular remodeling in the non-infarcted myocardium and may contribute to the development of more precise therapies to mitigate progression of chronic HF post-MI., CC BY 4.0Received: 04 August 2021. Accepted: 16 September 2021. Published: 13 October 2021 Correspondence:Cláudia Correia claudia.correia@astrazeneca.comJane Synnergren jane.synnergren@his.seFunding: This work was supported by AstraZeneca and the University of Skövde, Sweden under grants from the Knowledge Foundation [2014/301, 2016/294, and 2016/330]. The funder was not involved in the study design, collection, analysis, interpretation of data, the writing of this article, or the decision to submit it for publication.

FPR2, a member of the family of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), mediates neutrophil migration, a response that has been linked to β-arrestin recruitment. β-Arrestin regulates GPCR endocytosis and can also elicit non-canonical receptor signaling. To determine the poorly understood role of β-arrestin in FPR2 endocytosis and in NADPH-oxidase activation in neutrophils, Barbadin was used as a research tool in this study. Barbadin has been shown to bind the clathrin adaptor protein (AP2) and thereby prevent β-arrestin/AP2 interaction and β-arrestin-mediated GPCR endocytosis. In agreement with this, AP2/β-arrestin interaction induced by an FPR2-specific agonist was inhibited by Barbadin. Unexpectedly, however, Barbadin did not inhibit FPR2 endocytosis, indicating that a mechanism independent of β-arrestin/AP2 interaction may sustain FPR2 endocytosis. This was confirmed by the fact, that FPR2 also underwent agonist-promoted endocytosis in β-arrestin deficient cells, albeit at a diminished level as compared to wild type cells. Dissection of the Barbadin effects on FPR2-mediated neutrophil functions including NADPH-oxidase activation mediated release of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and chemotaxis revealed that Barbadin had no effect on chemotactic migration whereas the release of ROS was potentiated/primed. The effect of Barbadin on ROS production was reversible, independent of β-arrestin recruitment, and similar to that induced by latrunculin A. Taken together, our data demonstrate that endocytic uptake of FPR2 occurs independently of β-arrestin, while Barbadin selectively augments FPR2-mediated ROS production independently of receptor endocytosis. Given that Barbadin binds to AP2 and prevents the AP2/β-arrestin interaction, our results indicate a role for AP2 in FPR2-mediated ROS release from neutrophils.

Paracrine factors can induce cardiac regeneration and repair post myocardial infarction by stimulating proliferation of cardiac cells and inducing the anti-fibrotic, antiapoptotic, and immunomodulatory effects of angiogenesis. Here, we screened a human secretome library, consisting of 923 growth factors, cytokines, and proteins with unknown function, in a phenotypic screen with human cardiac progenitor cells. The primary readout in the screen was proliferation measured by nuclear count. From this screen, we identified FGF1, FGF4, FGF9, FGF16, FGF18, and seven additional proteins that induce proliferation of cardiac progenitor cells. FGF9 and FGF16 belong to the same FGF subfamily, share high sequence identity, and are described to have similar receptor preferences. Interestingly, FGF16 was shown to be specific for proliferation of cardiac progenitor cells, whereas FGF9 also proliferated human cardiac fibroblasts. Biosensor analysis of receptor preferences and quantification of receptor abundances suggested that FGF16 and FGF9 bind to different FGF receptors on the cardiac progenitor cells and cardiac fibroblasts. FGF16 also proliferated naive cardiac progenitor cells isolated from mouse heart and human cardiomyocytes derived from induced pluripotent cells. Taken together, the data suggest that FGF16 could be a suitable paracrine factor to induce cardiac regeneration and repair., QC 20200131