title: Islet1 cardiovascular progenitors: a single source for heart lineages?
abstract: The creation of regenerative stem cell therapies for heart disease requires that we understand the molecular mechanisms that govern the fates and differentiation of the diverse muscle and non-muscle cell lineages of the heart. Recently, different cardiac cell types have been reported to arise from a common, multipotent Islet1 (Isl1)-positive progenitor, suggesting that a clonal model of heart lineage diversification might occur that is analogous to hematopoiesis. The ability to isolate, renew and differentiate Isl1(+) precursors from postnatal and embryonic hearts and from embryonic stem cells provides a powerful cell-based system for characterizing the signaling pathways that control cardiovascular progenitor formation, renewal, lineage specification and conversion to specific differentiated progeny.
authors.affiliation: Massachusetts General Hospital - Cardiovascular Research Center, Charles River Plaza/CPZN 3208, 185 Cambridge Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA. klaugwiz@med1.med.tum.de
authors.forename: Karl-Ludwig
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Laugwitz
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Moretti
authors.forename: Leslie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Caron
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nakano
authors.forename: Kenneth R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Chien
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000628:therapy; D019070:Cell Lineage; D006801:Humans; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000166:cytology*; D009206:Myocardium / Q000166:cytology*; D038081:Organogenesis; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*