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Updated: Jul 11, 2026
Efficient Derivation of Human Cardiac Precursors and Cardiomyocytes from Pluripotent Human Embryonic Stem Cells with Small Molecule Induction
Published on: November 3, 2011
Umbilical cord blood-derived stem cells spontaneously express cardiomyogenic traits
C Prat-Vidal1, S Roura, J Farré
1Laboratory of Cell Physiology, Department of Cardiology-Institut Català de Ciències Cardiovasculars (ICCC) Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
Background:
Umbilical cord blood (UCB) has been widely used for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The UCB-derived stem cells (UCBSCs) have been proposed as an alternative to bone marrow (BM)-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for cardiac cell-based therapy. Herein we studied whether UCBSCs spontaneously exhibit cardiac-specific markers in vitro.
Methods:
Human UCBSCs were isolated, expanded, and phenotyped by flow cytometry, quantitative RT-PCR, and immunofluorescence. Cell pluripotency and proliferation were also assessed by adipogenic and osteogenic media and in growth assays.
Results:
Among 25 analyzed UCB, 16% of cases afforded primary culture satisfactory generation of UCBSCs. Duplication time (Td) of cultures was 2.16 +/- 0.06 days. The cells were strongly positive for CD105 (18.5 +/- 0.14), CD44 (27 +/- 2.8), CD166 (13 +/- 9), CD29 (59 +/- 9.4), CD90 (60 +/- 11) and consistently negative for CD117 (1.2 +/- 0.1), CD106 (1.1 +/- 0), CD34 (1.2 +/- 0.2), CD14 (1 +/- 0), and CD45 (1 +/- 0), consistent with a mesenchymal lineage. Adipogenesis and osteogenesis of cells resulted in low accumulation of intracellular lipid droplets and high deposition of calcium. The UCBSCs showed gene transcripts for alpha-actinin, connexin (Cx)-43, SERCA-2, and stromal cell-derived factor (SDF)-1alpha. At the protein level, the cells abundantly expressed alpha-actinin, Cx-43, SERCA-2 and SDF-1alpha. In contrast, these cells did not express the cardiac transcription factors GATA-4, Tbx5, and Nkx2.5, nor the sarcomeric proteins beta-myosin heavy chain (beta-MyHC) or cardiac troponin I (cTnI).
Conclusions:
Human UCBSCs may represent an alternative source of stem cells for myocardial-cell replacement. These cells can be highly expanded. They spontaneously express proteins of paramount importance for cardiovascular regeneration, such as Cx-43, SERCA-2, and SDF-1alpha.
