An engineered human cardiac tissue model reveals contributions of systemic lupus erythematosus autoantibodies to myocardial injury

Authors:
Sharon Fleischer, Trevor R. Nash, Manuel A. Tamargo, Roberta I. Lock, Gabriela Venturini, Margaretha Morsink, Pamela L. Graney, Vanessa Li, Morgan J. Lamberti, Martin Liberman, Youngbin Kim, Daniel N. Tavakol, Richard Z. Zhuang, Jaron Whitehead, Richard A. Friedman, Rajesh K. Soni, Jonathan G. Seidman, Christine E. Seidman, Laura Geraldino-Pardilla, Robert Winchester & Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic 
In:
Source: Nature
Publication Date: (2024)
Issue: 3: 9
Research Area:
Cardiovascular
Cells used in publication:
Fibroblast, ventricular cardiac, human
Species: human
Tissue Origin: heart
Experiment

Cardiac fibroblasts

Primary human ventricular cardiac fibroblasts (NHCF-V; Lonza, CC-2904) were cultured according to the manufacturer’s protocol with Fibroblast Growth Medium 3 (PromoCell, C-23130). Fibroblasts were used between passage 3 and passage 5. Cells were generated from healthy donors with no history of autoimmune or cardiovascular disease.

Abstract

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a heterogenous autoimmune disease that affects multiple organs, including the heart. The mechanisms of myocardial injury in SLE remain poorly understood. In this study, we engineered human cardiac tissues and cultured them with IgG from patients with SLE, with and without myocardial involvement. IgG from patients with elevated myocardial inflammation exhibited increased binding to apoptotic cells within cardiac tissues subjected to stress, whereas IgG from patients with systolic dysfunction exhibited enhanced binding to the surface of live cardiomyocytes. Functional assays and RNA sequencing revealed that, in the absence of immune cells, IgG from patients with systolic dysfunction altered cellular composition, respiration and calcium handling. Phage immunoprecipitation sequencing (PhIP-seq) confirmed distinctive IgG profiles between patient subgroups. Coupling IgG profiling with cell surfaceome analysis identified four potential pathogenic autoantibodies that may directly affect the myocardium. Overall, these insights may improve patient risk stratification and inform the development of new therapeutic strategies.