Can bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells regenerate the myocardium?

Abstract

Background: Cardiovascular diseases are the serious clinical problem, especially the loss of viable myocytes. A new approach, which provides a novel method for the treatment, is a tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. One of the current cell types used as a source to improve cardiac tissue repair, are MSCs. The aim of this study was to check if the 5’azacitidine and growth factors from cardiomyocyte cell line initiate the differentiation of MSCs toward cardiomyocytes. Material and methods: Bone marrow MSCs were isolated and their biological features have been characterized. Conditioned media were prepared with the use of 5’azacitidine and growth factors released from cardiomyocytes. Results: The transdifferentiating process has been confirmed by the expression of specific muscle markers. Conditioned medium from cardiomyocyte cell line, as well as, 5’azacitidine induced muscle differentiation process in bone marrow MSCs in comparison to the control. Conclusions : Presented in this study data support the conclusion that this concept may represent a promising strategy for the repair of cardiac tissue, however, further experiments are necessary.