title: Predominant fusion of bone marrow-derived cardiomyocytes.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Here we address the capacity of bone marrow-derived cells (BMDCs) to trans-differentiate into mature myocytes under the physiological stimulus of exercise training.
  
  
  METHODS
  For this purpose, we have transplanted bone marrow from mice ubiquitously expressing enhanced green fluorescence protein (eGFP) into host mice that have been subjected to a prolonged program of exercise.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In all successful bone marrow reconstitutions (greater than 80%), we observed rare but consistent events of bone marrow-derived cardiomyocytes, the frequency of which was unchanged upon exercise training. We have further determined whether these recruited myocytes are a product of trans-differentiation or fusion by the use of a genetic system that distinguishes cell fusion from trans-differentiation in a single-cell assay.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We concluded that both in the unchallenged mouse and in the trained specimens, fusion is the most prominent mechanism by which bone marrow-derived cells are observed in the myocyte compartment.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of California-San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Jacob
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Andrade
authors.forename: Jason T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zamora
authors.forename: Chengqun
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Diego
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Franco
authors.forename: Noemi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sevilla
authors.forename: Peter J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Gruber
authors.forename: Jonathan T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Pilar
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ruiz-Lozano
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002459:Cell Fusion; D019070:Cell Lineage; D002469:Cell Separation; D006085:Graft Survival; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D006321:Heart / Q000502:physiology; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D032383:Myocytes, Cardiac / Q000166:cytology*; D010805:Physical Conditioning, Animal; D012038:Regeneration; D018183:Transplantation Chimera
chemical_list: D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins