Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 5, 2026
09:16
Suppression of Pro-fibrotic Signaling Potentiates Factor-mediated Reprogramming of Mouse Embryonic Fibroblasts into Induced Cardiomyocytes
Published on: June 3, 2018
From fibroblast cells to cardiomyocytes: direct lineage reprogramming
1Department of Developmental Biology, University of Pittsburgh, 530 45th Street, 8117 Rangos Research Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15201, USA. lyang@pitt.edu
Stem Cell Research & Therapy
|January 19, 2011
Summary
Scientists directly reprogrammed mouse fibroblast cells into cardiomyocytes using three cardiac transcription factors. This breakthrough advances cardiovascular research and offers potential new therapies for heart diseases.
Area of Science:
- Stem cell biology
- Cardiovascular research
Background:
- Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are generated by reprogramming somatic cells.
- Direct reprogramming converts one somatic cell type into another, bypassing pluripotency.
- Master regulators control cell fate decisions between pluripotency and differentiation.
Discussion:
- Srivastava's group achieved direct reprogramming of mouse fibroblasts into cardiomyocytes.
- Enforced expression of Gata4, Mef2c, and Tbx5 was used.
- Induced cardiomyocytes mimic key features of native cardiomyocytes.
Key Insights:
- Demonstrated feasibility of direct cardiac reprogramming from fibroblasts.
- Induced cardiomyocytes show similar gene expression and electrophysiology to native cells.
- Highlights the role of specific transcription factors in cell fate determination.
Outlook:
- Potential for novel regenerative therapies for cardiovascular diseases.
- Advances understanding of heart development and lineage specification.
- Opens new avenues for disease modeling and drug screening in vitro.
Related Concept Videos
01:29Somatic to iPS Cell Reprogramming
Reprogramming alters the gene expression in somatic cells, transforming them into induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells over several generations. Scientists can reprogram cells by introducing genes for four transcription factors—Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc (OSKM) by viral or non-viral methods. These factors are also known as Yamanaka factors after Shinya Yamanaka, who first generated iPS cells using mouse skin cells. Yamanaka was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2012 for this...
01:28Forced Transdifferentiation
Transdifferentiation, also known as lineage reprogramming, was first discovered by Selman and Kafatos in 1974 in silkmoths. They observed that the moths’ cuticle-producing cells transformed into salt-producing cells. Many such cases of natural transdifferentiation occur in organisms. In humans, pancreatic alpha cells can become beta cells. In newts, the loss of the eye’s lens causes the pigmented epithelial cells to transdifferentiate into the lens cells.
Artificial transdifferentiation occurs...
Artificial transdifferentiation occurs...
01:09Introduction to Fibroblasts
Rudolph Virchow discovered spindle-shaped cells called fibroblasts in 1858. Inactive fibroblasts, called fibrocytes, become activated by various stimuli, such as growth factors and inflammatory cytokines. Activated fibroblasts play a crucial role in wound healing, inflammation, formation of new blood vessels, and cancer progression. Uncontrolled activation of fibroblasts results in fibrosis, the excess deposition of fibrous tissue, which can lead to scarring and affect normal organs. This...
01:24Methods of Nuclear Reprogramming
Nuclear reprogramming is a process of transforming one cell type into an unrelated cell type by epigenetic changes that alter the cell’s original gene expression pattern. Such epigenetic changes force cells to express a different set of genes, which play a significant role in inducing transformation into other cell types. Nuclear reprogramming offers applications in reproductive cloning for livestock propagation and regenerative medicine — developing patient-specific cells for injury repair.
01:21Lineage Commitment
Commitment is the process whereby stem cells: