We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

LabMedica

Download Mobile App
Recent News Expo Clinical Chem. Molecular Diagnostics Hematology Immunology Microbiology Pathology Technology Industry Focus

Stem Cell Therapy Repairs Damaged Heart Muscle in Mouse Myocardial Infarction Model

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 13 Mar 2016
Print article
Image: The three types of heart cells—cardiomyocytes, endothelial cells, and smooth muscle cells—created from ieCPCs (Photo courtesy of Dr. Yu Zhang, Gladstone Institutes).
Image: The three types of heart cells—cardiomyocytes, endothelial cells, and smooth muscle cells—created from ieCPCs (Photo courtesy of Dr. Yu Zhang, Gladstone Institutes).
Advanced stem cell techniques were used to generate expandable cardiovascular progenitor cells (ieCPCs) from skin fibroblasts, which could repair damage to the heart muscle caused by myocardial infarction.

Use of stem cells to repair damaged heart muscle has been only partially successful due to failure of the cells to self-renew or failure to generate all three types of cells—cardiomyocytes (CMs), endothelial cells (ECs), and smooth muscle cells (SMCs)—that the heart requires to heal and function properly.

In the current study, investigators at the University of California, San Francisco's Gladstone Institutes (USA) worked with a mouse heart disease model. They isolated a cell population with extensive proliferation capacity and restricted cardiovascular differentiation potentials during cardiac transdifferentiation of mouse fibroblasts. These induced expandable cardiovascular progenitor cells (ieCPCs) proliferated extensively for more than 18 passages in chemically defined conditions, with 105 starting fibroblasts robustly producing 1016 ieCPCs.

The investigators reported in the March 3, 2016, online edition of the journal Cell Stem Cell that the ieCPCs expressed cardiac signature genes and readily differentiated into functional cardiomyocytes (CMs), endothelial cells (ECs), and smooth muscle cells (SMCs) in vitro, even after long-term expansion. When transplanted into mouse hearts following myocardial infarction, ieCPCs spontaneously differentiated into CMs, ECs, and SMCs and improved cardiac function for up to 12 weeks after transplantation.

"Cardiac progenitor cells could be ideal for heart regeneration," said senior author Dr. Sheng Ding, professor of pharmaceutical chemistry at the Gladstone Institutes. "They are the closest precursor to functional heart cells, and, in a single step, they can rapidly and efficiently become heart cells, both in a dish and in a live heart. With our new technology, we can quickly create billions of these cells in a dish and then transplant them into damaged hearts to treat heart failure."

Related Links:

Gladstone Institutes


Platinum Member
COVID-19 Rapid Test
OSOM COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Test
Magnetic Bead Separation Modules
MAG and HEATMAG
Anti-Cyclic Citrullinated Peptide Test
GPP-100 Anti-CCP Kit
Gold Member
Fully Automated Cell Density/Viability Analyzer
BioProfile FAST CDV

Print article

Channels

Clinical Chemistry

view channel
Image: The 3D printed miniature ionizer is a key component of a mass spectrometer (Photo courtesy of MIT)

3D Printed Point-Of-Care Mass Spectrometer Outperforms State-Of-The-Art Models

Mass spectrometry is a precise technique for identifying the chemical components of a sample and has significant potential for monitoring chronic illness health states, such as measuring hormone levels... Read more

Molecular Diagnostics

view channel
Image: A massive study has identified new biomarkers for renal cancer subtypes, improving diagnosis and treatment (Photo courtesy of Jessica Johnson)

Novel Biomarkers to Improve Diagnosis of Renal Cell Carcinoma Subtypes

Renal cell carcinomas (RCCs) are notably diverse, encompassing over 20 distinct subtypes and generally categorized into clear cell and non-clear cell types; around 20% of all RCCs fall into the non-clear... Read more

Hematology

view channel
Image: The CAPILLARYS 3 DBS devices have received U.S. FDA 510(k) clearance (Photo courtesy of Sebia)

Next Generation Instrument Screens for Hemoglobin Disorders in Newborns

Hemoglobinopathies, the most widespread inherited conditions globally, affect about 7% of the population as carriers, with 2.7% of newborns being born with these conditions. The spectrum of clinical manifestations... Read more

Immunology

view channel
Image: Exosomes can be a promising biomarker for cellular rejection after organ transplant (Photo courtesy of Nicolas Primola/Shutterstock)

Diagnostic Blood Test for Cellular Rejection after Organ Transplant Could Replace Surgical Biopsies

Transplanted organs constantly face the risk of being rejected by the recipient's immune system which differentiates self from non-self using T cells and B cells. T cells are commonly associated with acute... Read more

Microbiology

view channel
Image: The T-SPOT.TB test is now paired with the Auto-Pure 2400 liquid handling platform for accurate TB testing (Photo courtesy of Shutterstock)

Integrated Solution Ushers New Era of Automated Tuberculosis Testing

Tuberculosis (TB) is responsible for 1.3 million deaths every year, positioning it as one of the top killers globally due to a single infectious agent. In 2022, around 10.6 million people were diagnosed... Read more