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Updated: Aug 11, 2026
Pluripotent Stem Cell Derived Cardiac Cells for Myocardial Repair
Published on: February 3, 2017
Cardiac progenitor cells in brown adipose tissue repaired damaged myocardium
Yoshihiro Yamada1, Xiang-Di Wang, Shin-ichiro Yokoyama
1Department of Stem Cell Biology, Cancer Research Institute, Kanazawa University, Takarama-chi 13-1, Kanazawa 920-0934, Japan. yyamada@kenroku.kanazawa-u.ac.jp
Insights
Researchers discovered cardiomyocyte progenitor cells in brown adipose tissue (BAT). These CD29-positive cells efficiently regenerate heart muscle, offering a promising new avenue for cardiac regenerative therapy after myocardial infarction.
Area of Science:
- Regenerative Medicine
- Cardiology
- Stem Cell Biology
Background:
- Cardiomyocyte (CM) regeneration is limited in adults, hindering recovery from myocardial infarction (MI).
- Existing sources of CM progenitors (e.g., bone marrow stem cells, embryonic stem cells, skeletal myoblasts) present clinical application challenges.
- Identifying novel, efficient sources of CM progenitors is crucial for advancing cardiac regenerative therapy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify and characterize novel cardiomyocyte progenitor cells.
- To evaluate the potential of brown adipose tissue (BAT)-derived cells for cardiac regeneration.
- To assess the therapeutic efficacy of these cells in a rat model of acute myocardial infarction.
Main Methods:
- Identification of cardiomyocyte progenitor cells within brown adipose tissue (BAT).
- Characterization of progenitor cells, focusing on the CD29-positive population.
- In vivo transplantation of CD29-positive BAT-derived cells (BATDCs) into the infarct border zone of a rat acute myocardial infarction model.
- Assessment of cardiac function and infarct size post-transplantation.
Main Results:
- Successfully identified cardiomyocyte progenitor cells in BAT.
- Demonstrated efficient differentiation of CD29-positive BATDCs into cardiomyocytes.
- Transplantation of CD29-positive BATDCs significantly reduced infarct area and improved left ventricular function in rats.
- Observed replacement of damaged tissue with newly developed cardiomyocytes following BATDC implantation.
Conclusions:
- Brown adipose tissue contains a valuable source of cardiomyocyte progenitor cells (CD29+ BATDCs).
- CD29-positive BATDCs exhibit high differentiation efficiency into cardiomyocytes.
- These cells hold significant promise as a therapeutic tool for cardiac regeneration after myocardial infarction.
Abstract:
Cardiomyocyte (CM) regeneration is limited in adult life and is not sufficient to prevent myocardial infarction. Hence, the identification of a useful source of CM progenitors is of great interest for possible use in regenerative therapy. Mesenchymal stem cells in bone marrow, embryonic stem cells, and skeletal myoblasts are known sources of CM repletion; however, there are a number of critical problems for clinical application. In this study, we succeeded to identify CM progenitor cells in brown adipose tissue (BAT). Moreover, we showed that CM progenitor cells in BAT that existed in CD29-positive population could differentiate into CM with high efficiency. To confirm the in vivo effect of CD29(+)BAT-derived cells (BATDCs), we transplanted these cells into infarct border zone of an acute myocardial infarction model in rat. Results clearly indicated that implantation of CD29(+) BATDCs led to the reduction of the infarction area and improvement of left ventricular function by replacing newly developed CMs in comparison with that by CD29(+) white adipose tissue-derived cells or control saline. These findings suggest that BATDCs are one of the useful sources for a new strategy in CM regeneration.
