In vitro study of the differentiation of bone marrow stromal cells into cardiomyocyte-like cells

Bone marrow multipotent stromal cells (BMSCs) have the ability to transdifferentiate into various cell types, including: osteoblasts, chondrocytes, adipocytes, neurons, and cardiomyocytes. This study aimed to differentiate the BMSCs into cardiomyocyte. BMSCs were exposed to 5-azacytidine for 24 h. Seven days after the induction of cell differentiation by 5-azacytidine, the cardiomyogenic cells were stained by fushin and binucleated cells were counted and compared with the neonate cardiomyocyte as positive control. In addition, immunofluorescence analysis and western blot were performed using the antibodies against α-actinin, desmin, troponin T, and β-myosin heavy chain. Our results showed that there was no significant difference between the number of binucleated cells within the cardiomyogenic cell group and positive control group; however, a statistically significant difference was observed between both of these groups and undifferentiated cell group (P < 0.005). In addition, after 5-azacytidine treatment, BMSCs had a higher expression of cardiac-specific markers such as desmin, α-actinin, troponin T and β-myosin heavy chain compared with the untreated groups (P < 0.005). We concluded that 5-azacytidine is an effective inducer for the differentiation of BMSCs into cardiomyocytes and could produce a population of binucleated cells, which express α-actinin, desmin, troponin T, and β-myosin heavy chain, four markers of cardiomyocytes.