AUTHOR=Rawat Hilansi , Kornherr Jessica , Zawada Dorota , Bakhshiyeva Sara , Kupatt Christian , Laugwitz Karl-Ludwig , Bähr Andrea , Dorn Tatjana , Moretti Alessandra , Nowak-Imialek Monika 

TITLE=Recapitulating porcine cardiac development in vitro: from expanded potential stem cell to embryo culture models

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cell-and-developmental-biology/articles/10.3389/fcell.2023.1111684

DOI=10.3389/fcell.2023.1111684

ISSN=2296-634X

ABSTRACT=<p>Domestic pigs (<italic>Sus scrofa</italic>) share many genetic, anatomical, and physiological traits with humans and therefore constitute an excellent preclinical animal model. Fundamental understanding of the cellular and molecular processes governing early porcine cardiogenesis is critical for developing advanced porcine models used for the study of heart diseases and new regenerative therapies. Here, we provide a detailed characterization of porcine cardiogenesis based on fetal porcine hearts at various developmental stages and cardiac cells derived from porcine expanded pluripotent stem cells (pEPSCs), i.e., stem cells having the potential to give rise to both embryonic and extraembryonic tissue. We notably demonstrate for the first time that pEPSCs can differentiate into cardiovascular progenitor cells (CPCs), functional cardiomyocytes (CMs), epicardial cells and epicardial-derived cells (EPDCs) <italic>in vitro</italic>. Furthermore, we present an enhanced system for whole-embryo culture which allows continuous <italic>ex utero</italic> development of porcine post-implantation embryos from the cardiac crescent stage (ED14) up to the cardiac looping (ED17) stage. These new techniques provide a versatile platform for studying porcine cardiac development and disease modeling.</p>