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Updated: Aug 1, 2025
In Vitro Culture of Epicardial Cells From Mouse Embryonic Heart
Published on: April 27, 2016
Roles of pigment epithelium-derived factor in cardiomyocytes: implications for use as a cardioprotective therapeutic
Isobel C Jones1,2, Crispin R Dass1,2
1Curtin Medical School, Curtin University, Bentley, Australia.
Insights
Pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) shows potential for treating heart attacks, but its dual role needs more study. Understanding PEDF
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Biology
- Molecular Medicine
- Protein Therapeutics
Background:
- Cardiovascular diseases are a leading global cause of mortality with limited therapeutic options.
- Pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) is an endogenous protein with diverse biological functions.
- PEDF has emerged as a potential agent for cardioprotection following myocardial infarction, though its pro-apoptotic effects present a challenge.
Conclusions:
- PEDF's cardioprotective and apoptotic activities share regulatory pathways.
- Cellular context and molecular characteristics are crucial for modulating PEDF's effects.
- Further investigation is warranted to harness PEDF's therapeutic potential for cardiac conditions.
Objectives:
Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide, with patients having limited options for treatment. Pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) is an endogenous multifunctional protein with several mechanisms of action. Recently, PEDF has emerged as a potential cardioprotective agent in response to myocardial infarction. However, PEDF is also associated with pro-apoptotic effects, complicating its role in cardioprotection. This review summarises and compares knowledge of PEDF's activity in cardiomyocytes with other cell types and draws links between them. Following this, the review offers a novel perspective of PEDF's therapeutic potential and recommends future directions to understand the clinical potential of PEDF better.
Key Findings:
PEDF's mechanisms as a pro-apoptotic and pro-survival protein are not well understood, despite PEDF's implication in several physiological and pathological activities. However, recent evidence suggests that PEDF may have significant cardioprotective properties mediated by key regulators dependent on cell type and context.
Conclusions:
While PEDF's cardioprotective activity shares some key regulators with its apoptotic activity, cellular context and molecular features likely allow manipulation of PEDF's cellular activity, highlighting the importance of further investigation into its activities and its potential to be applied as a therapeutic to mitigate damage from a range of cardiac pathologies.
