Aghajanian, H., Kimura, T., Rurik, J.G. et al. Targeting cardiac fibrosis with engineered T cells. Nature 573, 430–433 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1546-z

Published: 11 September 2019 by Jonathan A. Epstein Group at UPenn

Abstract: Fibrosis is observed in nearly every form of myocardial disease1. Upon injury, cardiac fibroblasts in the heart begin to remodel the myocardium by depositing excess extracellular matrix, resulting in increased stiffness and reduced compliance of the tissue. Excessive cardiac fibrosis is an important factor in the progression of various forms of cardiac disease and heart failure2. However, clinical interventions and therapies that target fibrosis remain limited3. Here we demonstrate the efficacy of redirected T cell immunotherapy to specifically target pathological cardiac fibrosis in mice. We find that cardiac fibroblasts that express a xenogeneic antigen can be effectively targeted and ablated by adoptive transfer of antigen-specific CD8+ T cells. Through expression analysis of the gene signatures of cardiac fibroblasts obtained from healthy and diseased human hearts, we identify an endogenous target of cardiac fibroblasts—fibroblast activation protein. Adoptive transfer of T cells that express a chimeric antigen receptor against fibroblast activation protein results in a significant reduction in cardiac fibrosis and restoration of function after injury in mice. These results provide proof-of-principle for the development of immunotherapeutic drugs for the treatment of cardiac disease.

#CardiacFibrosis #CarT #FAP

Cho, S., Rhee, S., Madl, C.M. et al. Selective inhibition of stromal mechanosensing suppresses cardiac fibrosis. Nature (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-08945-9

Published: 30 April 2025 from Joseph C. Wu Group at Stanford University, School of Medicine

Abstract: Matrix-derived biophysical cues are known to regulate the activation of fibroblasts and their subsequent transdifferentiation into myofibroblasts, but whether modulation of these signals can suppress fibrosis in intact tissues remains unclear, particularly in the cardiovascular system. Here we demonstrate across multiple scales that inhibition of matrix mechanosensing in persistently activated cardiac fibroblasts potentiates—in concert with soluble regulators of the TGFβ pathway—a robust transcriptomic, morphological and metabolic shift towards quiescence. By conducting a meta-analysis of public human and mouse single-cell sequencing datasets, we identify the focal-adhesion-associated tyrosine kinase SRC as a fibroblast-enriched mechanosensor that can be targeted selectively in stromal cells to mimic the effects of matrix softening in vivo. Pharmacological inhibition of SRC by saracatinib, coupled with TGFβ suppression, induces synergistic repression of key profibrotic gene programs in fibroblasts, characterized by a marked inhibition of the MRTF–SRF pathway, which is not seen after treatment with either drug alone. Importantly, the dual treatment alleviates contractile dysfunction in fibrotic engineered heart tissues and in a mouse model of heart failure. Our findings point to joint inhibition of SRC-mediated stromal mechanosensing and TGFβ signalling as a potential mechanotherapeutic strategy for treating cardiovascular fibrosis.

#CardiacFibrosis #CarT #FAP