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A Modified Method for Heterotopic Mouse Heart Transplantion
Published on: June 24, 2014
Chimerism of the transplanted heart
Federico Quaini1, Konrad Urbanek, Antonio P Beltrami
1Department of Medicine, New York Medical College, Valhalla 10595, USA.
The New England Journal of Medicine
|January 5, 2002
Summary
Male recipients of female donor hearts show significant primitive cell migration. Recipient cells were found in the donor heart, indicating cardiac chimerism and potential for stem cell integration.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Science
- Regenerative Medicine
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Male recipients of female donor hearts offer a unique model to study cell migration and chimerism.
- The Y chromosome serves as a marker to track recipient-derived primitive cells in the donor graft.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the translocation of primitive cells from male recipients to female donor hearts.
- To determine if recipient-derived cells reside within the transplanted cardiac tissue.
Main Methods:
- Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was used to detect Y chromosomes in cardiac samples.
- Analysis focused on identifying primitive cells expressing stem cell markers (c-kit, MDR1, Sca-1) in donor hearts and recipient atria.
Main Results:
- 7-10% of myocytes, arterioles, and capillaries in donor hearts contained Y chromosomes, indicating recipient cell presence.
- Transplanted hearts showed increased numbers of c-kit, MDR1, or Sca-1 positive cells compared to controls.
- Primitive cells, including myocytes and endothelial progenitors, were identified in both recipient and donor hearts, with higher concentrations in atria.
Conclusions:
- A high degree of cardiac chimerism occurs due to primitive cell migration from recipient to donor heart.
- Putative stem cells and progenitor cells are present in cardiac tissue, with increased numbers observed in transplanted hearts.
