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Updated: Apr 26, 2026
In Vitro Differentiation of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells into Functional Cardiomyocyte-like Cells
Published on: August 9, 2017
A cocktail method for promoting cardiomyocyte differentiation from bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells
Qing Gao1, Maojuan Guo1, Xijuan Jiang1
1Key Laboratory of Pathology of State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin 300193, China.
Abstract:
A growing body of evidence supports the argument that bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can differentiate into cardiomyocyte-like cells in an appropriate cellular environment, but the differentiation rate is low. A cocktail method was designed: we investigated the role of 5-azacytidine (5-aza), salvianolic acid B (SalB), and cardiomyocyte lysis medium (CLM) in inducing MSCs to acquire the phenotypical characteristics of cardiomyocytes. The fourth-passage MSCs were treated with 5-aza, SalB, CLM, 5-aza+salB, 5-aza+CLM, SalB+CLM, and 5-aza+SalB+CLM for 2 weeks. Immunofluorescence results showed that cTnT expression in the 5-aza+salB+CLM group was stronger than other groups. Real-time qPCR and Western blotting analyses showed that cTnT, alpha-cardiac actin, mef-2c, Cx43, and GSK-3beta expression increased while beta-catenin expression decreased. The salB+5-aza+CLM group had the most evident effects. SalB combined with 5-aza and CLM improved cardiomyocyte differentiation from MSCs. In the MSCs differentiation process, the Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway had been inhibited.
