# Characterizing the Mechanisms of Cardiac Recovery Following Treatment with Exosomes Secreted by iPS Derived Cardiomyocytes

> **NIH NIH F30** · COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES · 2020 · $50,520

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT
Heart disease remains the leading cause of mortality worldwide with myocardial infarction (MI) affecting over
700,000 individuals annually in the United States alone. As standard therapies fail to recover the injured
myocardium, any advances in the treatment of cardiac ischemia would have major clinical significance. Recently,
cell-free biological therapies using cell-secreted exosomes have shown promise in achieving cardiac recovery.
Exosomes contain sets of micro-RNAs (miRNAs) that they deliver to induce pleiotropic effects. As exosomes
from different cell types carry different sets of miRNAs, some exosomes may have increased ability to recover
the injured heart. In preliminary studies, I determined that exosomes from induced pluripotent stem cell derived
cardiomyocytes (iCM-ex) were able to mediate recovery of the heart, resulting in improved ejection fraction and
reduced infarct size after MI. An in-depth understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms behind iCM-
ex induced cardiac recovery will be critical to further advance the utility of iCM-ex treatment. In pursuit of this
goal, I propose the following aims: In Aim 1, I will investigate the ability of iCM-ex to deliver miRNAs that can
directly alter gene expression and promote recovery in cardiomyocytes after hypoxic injury. I hypothesize that
I will be able to identify a set of miRNAs delivered by iCM-exs to CMs that can directly regulate CM responses
to hypoxia, protecting them from injury and preventing cell death. In Aim 2, I will determine how the timing of
iCM-ex delivery after MI affects functional recovery. Based on how iCM-ex affect each phase of cardiac repair
following MI, I hypothesize that I will be able to establish an iCM-ex treatment strategy that results in greater
functional recovery. Overall, my proposed research is designed to advance the utility of iCM-ex treatment
by identifying the key cellular and molecular mechanisms responsible for iCM-ex mediated cardiac
recovery. I anticipate that this will allow for the future development of precisely controlled cell-free treatments
that can be safely deployed in the clinic. This proposed project will be conducted in the lab of my sponsor, Dr.
Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic, a University Professor on faculty at the Departments of Biomedical Engineering and
Medicine at Columbia University. As part of a broader training plan for this fellowship, the execution of this project
under her direct mentorship will allow me to expand and refine my technical skills in cardiac biology,
computational analysis, and tissue engineering and to improve my ability to generate concrete hypotheses and
formulate impactful projects. Additionally, my training plan includes substantial clinical training at the New York
Presbyterian Hospital at the Columbia University Medical Center, a thousand-bed hospital home to the Vivian
and Seymour Milstein Family Heart Center, one of the top hospitals in the field of cardiology. Toge...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9932121
- **Project number:** 5F30HL145921-02
- **Recipient organization:** COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES
- **Principal Investigator:** Bohao Liu
- **Activity code:** F30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $50,520
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-02-01 → 2023-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9932121

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9932121, Characterizing the Mechanisms of Cardiac Recovery Following Treatment with Exosomes Secreted by iPS Derived Cardiomyocytes (5F30HL145921-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9932121. Licensed CC0.

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