In Vivo Direct Reprogramming by AAV Improves Cardiac Function after Myocardial Infarction. [RNA-seq]

The overexpression of cardiac transcription factors, Gata4/Hand2/Tbx5, and Mef2c (GHT/M) has been indicated that directly reprogram cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) into induced cardiomyocytes (iCMs) in vivo, and improve cardiac function after MI in mice. Previous studies demonstrated in vivo reprogramming by using Sendai virus vectors. Here we show that in vivo reprogramming by using Adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors. Additionally, we use Mef2cM3 (M3), a fusion of Mef2c with a strong MyoD transcriptional activation domain. RNA-seq revealed that directly cardiac reprogramming of GHT/M3 by AAV vector activated the cardiac program and concomitantly suppressed fibroblast and inflammatory signatures.