Keio University · Medicine
Professor Masaki Ieda's research lab focuses on cardiac regeneration and the molecular mechanisms underlying cardiac development, innervation, and repair. The lab investigates direct cardiac reprogramming to generate induced cardiomyocytes (iCMs) from fibroblasts, with an emphasis on optimizing culture conditions—such as defined serum-free media and physiologically soft substrates—to enhance reprogramming efficiency and iCM maturity. A key area of interest is the role of neurotrophic factors, particularly nerve growth factor (NGF), in regulating cardiac sympathetic and sensory innervation, with implications for heart failure and post-infarct remodeling. The lab also explores signaling pathways, including endothelin-1 and FGF/VEGF signaling, that modulate cardiac cell fate and tissue repair.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
Fibroblasts can be directly reprogrammed into cardiomyocyte-like cells (iCMs) by overexpression of cardiac transcription factors, including Gata4, Mef2c, and Tbx5; however, this process is inefficient under serum-based culture conditions, in which conversion of partially reprogrammed cells into fully reprogrammed functional iCMs has been a major hurdle. Here, we report that a combination of fibroblast growth factor (FGF) 2, FGF10, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), termed FFV, promot
The cardiac sympathetic nerve plays an important role in regulating cardiac function, and nerve growth factor (NGF) contributes to its development and maintenance. However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms that regulate NGF expression and sympathetic innervation of the heart. In an effort to identify regulators of NGF in cardiomyocytes, we found that endothelin-1 specifically upregulated NGF expression in primary cultured cardiomyocytes. Endothelin-1-induced NGF augmentation was me
These findings demonstrate that the development and regulation of the cardiac sensory nervous system are dependent on NGF synthesized in the heart and that DM-induced NGF reduction causes cardiac sensory neuropathy.
The cardiac sympathetic nerve plays an important role in regulating cardiac function, and nerve growth factor (NGF) contributes to its development and maintenance. However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms that regulate NGF expression and sympathetic innervation of the heart. In an effort to identify regulators of NGF in cardiomyocytes, we found that endothelin-1 specifically upregulated NGF expression in primary cultured cardiomyocytes. Endothelin-1–induced NGF augmentation was me
These results demonstrate that cardiac reprogramming could repair chronic MI by means of myocardial regeneration and reduction of fibrosis. These findings present opportunities for the development of new therapies for chronic MI and heart failure.
Direct cardiac reprogramming holds great potential for regenerative medicine. However, it remains inefficient, and induced cardiomyocytes (iCMs) generated in vitro are less mature than those in vivo, suggesting that undefined extrinsic factors may regulate cardiac reprogramming. Previous in vitro studies mainly used hard polystyrene dishes, yet the effect of substrate rigidity on cardiac reprogramming remains unclear. Thus, we developed a Matrigel-based hydrogel culture system to determine the r
Japan faces an increasing incidence of heart disease, owing to a shift towards a westernized lifestyle and an aging demographic. In cases where conventional interventions are not appropriate, regenerative medicine offers a promising therapeutic option. However, the use of stem cells has limitations, and therefore, "direct cardiac reprogramming" is emerging as an alternative treatment. Myocardial regeneration transdifferentiates cardiac fibroblasts into cardiomyocytes in situ.Three cardiogenic tr
The heart is extensively innervated and its performance is tightly controlled by the nervous system. Cardiac innervation density varies in diseased hearts leading to unbalanced neural activation and lethal arrhythmia. Diabetic sensory neuropathy causes silent myocardial ischemia, characterized by loss of pain perception during myocardial ischemia, which is a major cause of sudden cardiac death in diabetes mellitus (DM). Despite its clinical importance, the mechanisms underlying the control and r
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