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Published on: June 16, 2020
Characteristics of cardiac cell cultures derived from human myocardial explants
S V Pavlova1, P P Perovskii, E V Chepeleva
1Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Siberian Division of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine, Siberian Division of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk; E. N. Meshalkin Research Institute of Circulatory Pathology, Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Novosibirsk; V. I. Kulakov Research Center of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Perinatology, Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Moscow, Russia. zakian@bionet.nsc.ru.
Insights
Human cardiac explant cultures contain cardiac stem cells and microvascular cells. Cardiosphere culture did not enrich stem cells, but c-kit(+) cells showed limited proliferation and cardiomyogenic potential, while microvascular cells provided angiogenic potential.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Biology
- Stem Cell Research
- Tissue Engineering
Background:
- Primary cell cultures from human myocardial explants are crucial for studying cardiac biology.
- Understanding the cellular composition of these cultures is essential for therapeutic applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize the cellular components of human myocardial explant cultures.
- To evaluate the effect of cardiosphere culture on stem cell enrichment.
- To assess the differentiation and angiogenic potential of isolated cardiac cells.
Main Methods:
- Isolation and characterization of primary cell cultures from human myocardial explants.
- Culturing cells in cardiospheres.
- Magnetic-activated cell sorting (MACS) for c-kit(+) cells.
- Assessment of proliferative capacity, cardiomyogenic differentiation, and angiogenic potential.
Main Results:
- Explant cultures comprised cardiac stem cells (c-kit(+), ~4%), microvascular cells, fibroblasts, and myofibroblasts.
- Cardiosphere culture did not enrich the stem cell population.
- MACS-sorted c-kit(+) cells exhibited limited proliferation but cardiomyogenic differentiation capacity.
- Microvascular cells were identified as the primary source of angiogenic potential.
Conclusions:
- Human myocardial explant cultures contain a heterogeneous cell population with distinct functional potentials.
- Cardiosphere formation is not an effective method for stem cell enrichment in this context.
- Cardiac stem cells possess cardiomyogenic potential, while microvascular cells contribute to angiogenesis, highlighting their complementary roles in cardiac repair.
Abstract:
Primary cell cultures derived from human myocardial explants were obtained and characterized. The explant cultures contained cardiac stem cells (c-kit(+); ≈ 4%), microvascular cells (endothelial cells and pericytes), fibroblasts, and myofibroblasts. It was demonstrated that culturing of cardiac cells in cardiospheres did not promote enrichment of the cell culture with stem cells. MACS-sorted c-kit(+) cells from the explant culture were characterized by limited proliferative capacity and were capable of cardiomyogenic differentiation. The presence of microvascular cells determined general angiogenic potential of the culture.

