Related Experiment Videos
Hematopoietic cells from bone marrow have the potential to differentiate into cardiomyocytes in vitro
Leonard M Eisenberg1, Lindsey Burns, Carol A Eisenberg
1Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina 29425, USA. eisenbec@MUSC.edu
Insights
Hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs) can differentiate into cardiomyocytes. Macrophages also demonstrated this cardiac potential, suggesting blood cells beyond HPCs can become heart cells.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Biology
- Hematology
- Stem Cell Biology
Background:
- Hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs) show potential for cardiomyocyte formation.
- Further investigation is needed to understand if HPCs can differentiate into cardiomyocytes independently.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs) can be induced to undergo cardiac differentiation on their own.
- To explore if other blood cell populations, like macrophages, can also differentiate into cardiomyocytes.
Main Methods:
- Avian bone marrow (BM)-derived HPCs were treated with growth factors.
- Coculture experiments involved adult mouse BM cells and embryonic heart tissue.
- Macrophages were cocultured with cardiac explants.
Main Results:
- HPCs expressed cardiac transcription factors and sarcomeric proteins after growth factor treatment.
- HPCs integrated into cardiac tissue and differentiated into cardiomyocytes.
- Macrophages also integrated into cardiac tissue and differentiated into cardiomyocytes.
Conclusions:
- Hematopoietic progenitor cells can undergo cardiac differentiation independently.
- Macrophages possess the potential to transdifferentiate into cardiomyocytes.
- The capacity for blood cells to become cardiomyocytes extends beyond traditional hematopoietic progenitors.
Abstract:
Recent studies have indicated that hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs) have the capacity to form cardiomyocytes. In the present study, we further examined the cardiac competence of HPCs by asking whether these cells by themselves can be provoked to undergo cardiac differentiation. Our data indicate that in response to growth factor treatment, HPCs from avian bone marrow (BM) can undergo cardiac differentiation, as indicated by their expression of multiple cardiac transcription factors and sarcomeric proteins. Furthermore, coculture experiments with adult mouse BM cells and embryonic heart tissue confirmed that HPCs are able to both integrate into cardiac tissue and differentiate into cardiomyocytes. In an additional set of experiments, we investigated whether other hematopoietic populations might possess cardiac potential by examining whether blood cells that normally are recruited to damaged tissue might act as a source of newly generated cardiomyocytes. Remarkably, macrophages cocultured with cardiac explants also demonstrated an ability to integrate into contractile heart tissue and undergo cardiac differentiation. Thus, our data suggest that the capacity of blood cells to transdifferentiate into cardiomyocytes is not limited to classically defined hematopoietic progenitors.