Authors: Ding, Zhaoping; Burghoff, Sandra; Buchheiser, Anja; Kögler, Gesine; Schrader, Jürgen

Source: Cell Transplantation, Volume 22, Number 1, 2013 , pp. 15-27(13)

Publisher: Cognizant Communication Corporation

Abstract:

Unrestricted somatic stem cells (USSCs) derived from human umbilical cord blood represent an attractive cell source to reconstitute the damaged heart. We have analyzed the cardiomyogenic potential and investigated the fate of USSCs after transplantation into rat heart in vivo. USSCs demonstrated cardiomyogenic differentiation properties characterized by the spontaneously beating activity and the robust expression of cardiac α-actinin and troponin T (cTnT) at protein and mRNA level after cocultivation with neonatal rat cardiomyocytes. To study the fate in vivo, eGFP⁺ USSCs were injected transcoronarily into immunosuppressed rats via a catheter-based technique. Nearly 80% USSCs were retained within the myocardium without altering cardiac hemodynamics. After 7 days, 20% of the transplanted cells survived in the host myocardium and showed elongated morphology with weak expression of cardiac-specific markers, while some eGFP⁺ USSCs were found to integrate into the vascular wall. After 21 days, only a small fraction of USSCs were found in the myocardium (0.13%); however, the remaining cells clearly exhibited a sarcomeric structure similar to mature cardiomyocytes. Identical results were also obtained in nude rats. In addition, we found some cells stained positively for activated caspase 3 paralleled by the massive infiltration of CD11b⁺ cells into the myocardium. In summary, USSCs can differentiate into beating cardiomyocytes by cocultivation in vitro. After coronary transplantation in vivo, however, long-term survival of differentiated USSCs was rather low despite a high initial fraction of trapped cells.

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Keywords: Stem cell; Unrestricted somatic stem cells (USSCs); Cardiogenesis; Transcoronary; Heart

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3727/096368912X640466

Affiliations: 1: Institut für Herz- und Kreislaufphysiologie, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany

Publication date: 2013-01-01

More about this publication?

• Cell Transplantation publishes original, peer-reviewed research and review articles on the subject of cell transplantation and its application to human diseases. To ensure high-quality contributions from all areas of transplantation, separate section editors and editorial boards have been established. Articles deal with a wide range of topics including physiological, medical, preclinical, tissue engineering, and device-oriented aspects of transplantation of nervous system, endocrine, growth factor-secreting, bone marrow, epithelial, endothelial, and genetically engineered cells, among others. Basic clinical studies and immunological research papers are also featured. To provide complete coverage of this revolutionary field, Cell Transplantation will report on relevant technological advances, and ethical and regulatory considerations of cell transplants. Cell Transplantation is now an Open Access journal starting with volume 18 in 2009, and therefore there will be an inexpensive publication charge, which is dependent on the number of pages, in addition to the charge for color figures. This will allow work to be disseminated to a wider audience and also entitle the corresponding author to a free PDF, as well as prepublication of an unedited version of the manuscript.
  

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• In this Subject: Anatomy & Physiology ,  Biology ,  Biotechnology ,  Pharmacology ,  Surgery
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