title: VEGF is critical for spontaneous differentiation of stem cells into cardiomyocytes.
abstract: Cardiomyocyte regeneration is limited in adult life and is not sufficient to compensate for cell loss with myocardial infarction. Hence, the identification of a useful source of cardiomyocyte progenitors is of great interest for possible use in regenerative therapy. In this study, we isolated stem cells derived from human subcutaneous adipose tissue. The expression of Nkx2.5 and GATA-4 can be observed by PCR directly after extraction and during cultivation in some of these cells. Cardiac Troponin T and myosin light chain-2v become positive after 12 days of cultivation. To define respective factors responsible for spontaneous differentiation, we measured VEGF level in ADSC conditioned medium. Our data showed that ADSC secrete significant amount of VEGF (283.5pg per microgram DNA) and that anti-VEGF receptor antibodies blocked the cardiac differentiation. In conclusion, we demonstrated the spontaneous differentiation of human subcutaneous adipose-derived stem cells into a cardiomyocyte phenotype under standard culturing conditions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Pathology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
authors.forename: Yao-Hua
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gehmert
authors.forename: Sanga
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sadat
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Pinkernell
authors.forename: Xiaowen
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Bai
authors.forename: Nadine
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Matthias
authors.forename: Eckhard
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Alt
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D024722:Cardiac Myosins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D050991:GATA4 Transcription Factor / Q000096:biosynthesis; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D006801:Humans; D032383:Myocytes, Cardiac / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D018994:Myosin Light Chains / Q000096:biosynthesis; D051381:Rats; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D050151:Subcutaneous Fat / Q000166:cytology; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000096:biosynthesis; D020107:Troponin T / Q000096:biosynthesis; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D050991:GATA4 Transcription Factor; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D018994:Myosin Light Chains; D014157:Transcription Factors; D020107:Troponin T; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; C107184:myosin light chain 2; D024722:Cardiac Myosins