Generation of patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes as a cellular model of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy

Aims Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is a primary heart muscle disorder associated with sudden cardiac death. Its pathophysiology is still poorly understood. We aimed to produce an in vitro cellular model of ARVC using patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived cardiomyocytes and determine whether the model could recapitulate key features of the disease phenotype. Methods and results Dermal fibroblasts were obtained from a 30-year-old man with a clinical diagnosis of ARVC, harbouring a plakophilin 2 (PKP2) gene mutation. Four stable iPSC lines were generated using retroviral reprogramming, and functional cardiomyocytes were derived. Gene expression levels of desmosomal proteins (PKP2 and plakoglobin) in cardiomyocytes from ARVC–iPSCs were significantly lower compared with cardiomyocytes from control iPSCs ( P < 0.01); there were no significant differences in the expression of desmoplakin, N -cadherin, and connexin 43 between the two groups. Cardiomyocytes derived from ARVC–iPSCs exhibited markedly reduced immunofluorescence signals when stained for PKP2 and plakoglobin, but similar levels of staining for desmoplakin, N -cadherin, and connexin 43 compared with control cardiomyocytes. Transmission electron microscopy showed that ARVC–iPSC cardiomyocytes were larger and contained darker lipid droplets compared with control cardiomyocytes. After 2 weeks of cell exposure to adiopgenic differentiation medium, ARVC–iPSC cardiomyocytes were found to contain a significantly greater amount of lipid, calculated using Oil Red O staining, compared with controls (734 ± 35.6 vs. 8.1 ± 0.49 a.u., respectively; n = 7, P = 0.001). Conclusion Patient-specific iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes display key features of ARVC, including reduced cell surface localization of desmosomal proteins and a more adipogenic phenotype.