NEXN deficiency leads to dilated cardiomyopathy in human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) constitutes a major cause of heart failure, characterized by high mortality rates and a limited availability of effective therapeutic options. A substantial body of evidence indicates that mutations in the Nexilin (NEXN) gene are significant pathogenic contributors to DCM, but the pathogenic mechanism for dilated cardiomyopathy is unclear.

A human NEXN homozygous knockout cardiomyocyte model was established by combining CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology and human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs)-directed differentiation technology. Cell model phenotypic assays were done to characterize the pathological features of the resulting NEXN-deficient cardiomyocytes.

NEXN gene knockout did not affect the pluripotency and differentiation efficiency of hiPSCs. NEXN-deficient cardiomyocytes showed disordered junctional membrane complexes, abnormal excitation-contraction coupling, increased oxidative stress and decreased energy metabolism level. Moreover, levo-carnitine and sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPase (SERCA2a) Activator 1 were identified as promising therapeutic agents for the treatment of DCM.

We demonstrated that NEXN was one of the important components in maintaining the structure and function of cardiomyocyte junctional membrane complexes (JMCs), excitation-contraction coupling and energy metabolism of cardiomyocytes, while the loss of its function would lead to DCM. This model represents an important tool to gain insight into the mechanism of DCM, elucidate the gene-phenotype relationship of NEXN deficiency and facilitate drug screening.