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Updated: Aug 5, 2026
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Isolation of Primary Patient-specific Aortic Smooth Muscle Cells and Semiquantitative Real-time Contraction Measurements In Vitro
Published on: February 15, 2022
Mitochondrial Function Changes in hiPSCs-Derived Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells
Lijun Fang1,2, Xuheng Sun3, Ling Shu4
1School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510006, China.
ACS Omega
|August 1, 2026
Summary
Mitochondria undergo significant changes during human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived vascular smooth muscle cell differentiation, enhancing cellular function and bioenergetics for tissue engineering applications.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Stem Cell Biology
- Cellular Metabolism
Background:
- Tissue-engineered vascular grafts require mature vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) for efficacy.
- Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) offer a potential source for VSMCs, but their differentiation and maturation need optimization.
- Mitochondrial morphology and function are critical for cellular differentiation and maturation, yet poorly understood during hiPSC-VSMC transition.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the morphological and functional adaptations of mitochondria during the differentiation of hiPSCs into VSMCs.
- To elucidate the bioenergetic and metabolic shifts associated with hiPSC-VSMC differentiation.
- To provide insights for improving differentiation protocols for vascular tissue engineering.
Main Methods:
- Comparative analysis of mitochondrial morphology using microscopy.
- Transcriptomic analysis to assess gene expression changes related to mitochondrial function.
- Measurement of intracellular ATP levels to evaluate bioenergetic capacity.
- Integrated multiomics analysis to identify metabolic pathway activation.
Main Results:
- Mitochondria redistributed from perinuclear to cytoplasmic localization, increased in number, and adopted elongated tubular shapes.
- Upregulation of genes involved in mitochondrial fusion, autophagy, and the electron transport chain was observed.
- Increased intracellular ATP content indicated enhanced bioenergetic capacity.
- Multiomics data revealed activation of key oxidative metabolism pathways, including the TCA cycle and oxidative phosphorylation.
Conclusions:
- hiPSC-VSMC differentiation is accompanied by substantial mitochondrial remodeling and functional enhancement.
- These mitochondrial changes support increased cellular bioenergetics and oxidative metabolism, crucial for VSMC maturation.
- Understanding these mitochondrial dynamics offers a pathway to optimize hiPSC-derived VSMCs for vascular tissue engineering.
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