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Updated: Jun 21, 2026
In Vitro Differentiation of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells into Functional Cardiomyocyte-like Cells
Published on: August 9, 2017
Protective paracrine effect of mesenchymal stem cells on cardiomyocytes
Mei-xiang Xiang1, Ai-na He, Jian-an Wang
1Department of Cardiology, the Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310009, China.
Objective:
The aim of this study was to test the protective effect of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) on cardiomyocytes in vitro and to investigate the anti-apoptotic signaling pathway.
Methods:
MSCs from Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were separated and cultured. MSC medium was collected from MSCs cultured in serum-free Dulbecco's modified eagle medium (DMEM) under hypoxia. Cultured cardiomyocytes from neonatal SD rats were exposed to hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) and treated with MSC medium. The apoptotic cardiomyocytes were stained with Annexin-V-fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC), Hoechst 33342 and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL). The mitochondrial transmembrane potential of cardiomyocytes was assessed using a fluorescence microscope. The expression of Bcl-2, Bax, cytochrome C, apoptosis-induced factor (AIF), and caspase-3 was tested by Western blot analysis.
Results:
Our data demonstrated that MSC medium reduced H/R-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis, increased the Bcl-2/Bax ratio, and reduced the release of cytochrome C and AIF from mitochondria into the cytosol.
Conclusion:
MSCs protected the cardiomyocytes from H/R-induced apoptosis through a mitochondrial pathway in a paracrine manner.
