Identification and biological characterization of chicken embryonic cardiac progenitor cells

Abstract

Many kinds of cardiac progenitor cell populations have been identified, including c-kit(+) , Nkx2.5(+) s and GATA4(+) cells. However, these progenitors have limited ability to differentiate into different cardiac cell types. Recently, a new kind of cardiac progenitor cell named the multipotent Isl1(+) cardiovascular progenitor (MICPs) has been identified, which also expresses Nkx2.5, GATA4, CD34 and Flk1. In this study, we have isolated and characterized MICPs from chicken embryonic heart tissues using immunofluorescence and PCR. Results shown that they express markers of cardiac progenitor cells, with high clonality. They have the ability to self-renew and can give rise to three types of heart cell in vitro. Myocytes, smooth muscle cells and endothelial cells. Our work provides evidence for a developmental paradigm of the heart, that endothelial and muscle lineage diversification arises from multipotent cardiac progenitor cells. Existence of these cells provides a new opportunity for myocardial injury repair.