Fast but not furious: neonatal cardiac fibroblasts as promoters of regeneration after myocardial infarction
Authors: Gomes R , Manuel F , Ribeiro J , Fonseca A , Pereira C , Pinto-Do-O P , Nascimento D 
Published: May 2024

Funding Acknowledgements

Type of funding sources: Public grant(s) – EU funding. Main funding source(s): Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT)

Introduction

Mouse neonates at postnatal day 1 (P1) regenerate their hearts after myocardial infarction (MI) but this capacity is transient. Seven day-old animals (P7) develop a reparative response similar to adults, with ischemic tissue being progressively replaced by a rigid fibrotic scar mainly produced by activated cardiac fibroblasts (CF). Recent works support that CF are likely to play an important role in mediating the regeneration-to-repair transition, but the current knowledge is limited.

Aims

Our final goal is to unravel CF-mediated mechanisms that confer regenerative potential to the neonatal heart and later reactivate these processes in the context of adult MI.

Methods

Ventricles from non-manipulated mice at different developmental stages were subjected to targeted RNA-seq. CF were isolated by FACS from P1 (regenerative) and P7 (reparative) hearts and characterized at the transcriptional, phenotypic and functional level in vitro. MI was induced by permanent ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery at P1 and P7. CF and immune cell dynamics were assessed at different timepoints after MI by flow cytometry and immunofluorescence (IF). Transcriptomics of FACS-sorted CF from sham-operated and infarcted hearts at P1 and P7 were assessed by targeted RNA-seq. Intramyocardial injections of either P1 or P7 CF in MI-operated P1 hearts were performed immediately after surgery and hearts were analysed by IF at 7 and 14 days after injury.

Results

Severe transcriptional alterations on extracellular matrix (ECM) genes were found between P1 (regenerative) and P7 (reparative) hearts. Concomitantly, CF were shown to progressively infiltrate the myocardium and undergo a phenotypic shift that recapitulates transcriptional alterations observed for ECM-encoding genes in the heart. In vitro, CF at P7 show increased proliferation, migration capacity and TGF-β responsiveness. After MI at P1, CF participate in the regenerative response through a fast and transient recruitment to the ischemic site, returning to basal levels at day 7, a period in which CM proliferation and neovascularization are upregulated. Contrarily, MI at P7 resulted in permanent loss of CM, impaired neovascularization and formation of aberrant fibrosis as a result of exuberant and persistent CF recruitment and activation. Whole transcriptomic analysis further showed CF from MI at P7 are highly reactive to injury and engage on the expression of ECM components. The injection of CF resulted in a reduced heart weight and accumulation of cells in the injury site at 7 and 14 days after MI, which suggests a delay in regeneration.

Conclusion

Physiological CF development after birth entails a shift from a pro-regenerative to a pro-fibrotic phenotype that impacts on the regenerative capacity of the heart and determines the persistent CF activation and permanent scarring after P7.