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Updated: May 3, 2026
Induction of Endothelial Differentiation in Cardiac Progenitor Cells Under Low Serum Conditions
Published on: January 7, 2019
Small molecule cardiogenol C upregulates cardiac markers and induces cardiac functional properties in
Agnes K Mike1, Xaver Koenig, Moumita Koley
1Center for Physiology and Pharmacology, Department of Neurophysiology and -Pharmacology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Background/Aims:
Cell transplantation into the heart is a new therapy after myocardial infarction. Its success, however, is impeded by poor donor cell survival and by limited transdifferentiation of the transplanted cells into functional cardiomyocytes. A promising strategy to overcome these problems is the induction of cardiomyogenic properties in donor cells by small molecules.
Methods:
Here we studied cardiomyogenic effects of the small molecule compound cardiogenol C (CgC), and structural derivatives thereof, on lineage-committed progenitor cells by various molecular biological, biochemical, and functional assays.
Results:
Treatment with CgC up-regulated cardiac marker expression in skeletal myoblasts. Importantly, the compound also induced cardiac functional properties: first, cardiac-like sodium currents in skeletal myoblasts, and secondly, spontaneous contractions in cardiovascular progenitor cell-derived cardiac bodies.
Conclusion:
CgC induces cardiomyogenic function in lineage-committed progenitor cells, and can thus be considered a promising tool to improve cardiac repair by cell therapy.
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