Bone marrow-derived cells can acquire cardiac stem cells properties in damaged heart.
Experimental data suggest that cell-based therapies may be useful for cardiac regeneration following ischaemic heart disease. Bone marrow (BM) cells have been reported to contribute to tissue repair after myocardial infarction (MI) by a variety of humoural and cellular mechanisms. However, there is no direct evidence, so far, that BM cells can generate cardiac stem cells (CSCs). To investigate whether BM cells contribute to repopulate the Kit(+) CSCs pool, we transplanted BM cells from transgenic mice, expressing green fluorescent protein under the control of Kit regulatory elements, into wild-type irradiated recipients. Following haematological reconstitution and MI, CSCs were cultured from cardiac explants to generate 'cardiospheres', a microtissue normally originating in vitro from CSCs. These were all green fluorescent (i.e. BM derived) and contained cells capable of initiating differentiation into cells expressing the cardiac marker Nkx2.5. These findings indicate that, at least in conditions of local acute cardiac damage, BM cells can home into the heart and give rise to cells that share properties of resident Kit(+) CSCs.
Barile
Lucio
L
Institut Pasteur-Cenci Bolognetti Foundation, Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Rome La Sapienza, Rome, Italy.
Cerisoli
Francesco
F
Frati
Giacomo
G
Gaetani
Roberto
R
Chimenti
Isotta
I
Forte
Elvira
E
Cassinelli
Letizia
L
Spinardi
Laura
L
Altomare
Claudia
C
Kizana
Eddy
E
Giacomello
Alessandro
A
Messina
Elisa
E
Ottolenghi
Sergio
S
Magli
Maria Cristina
MC
D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D015153:Blotting, Western; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D005260:Female; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D032383:Myocytes, Cardiac / Q000502:physiology* / Q000637:transplantation*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D012038:Regeneration; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000502:physiology*
D012333:RNA, Messenger