Abstract
Cell-based therapy has become a resource for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases; however, there are some conundrums to achieve. In vitro cardiomyocyte generation could be a solution for scaling options in clinical applications. Variability on cardiac differentiation in previously reported studies from adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ASCs) and the lack of measuring of the cardiomyocyte differentiation efficiency motivate the present study. Here, we improved the ASC-derived cardiomyocyte-like cell differentiation efficiency with a directed cardiomyocyte differentiation protocol: BMP-4 + VEGF (days 0-4) followed by a methylcellulose-based medium with cytokines (IL-6 and IL-3) (days 5-21). Cultures treated with the directed cardiomyocyte differentiation protocol showed cardiac-like cells and “rosette-like structures” from day 7. The percentage of cardiac troponin T- (cTnT-) positive cells was evaluated by flow cytometry to assess the cardiomyocyte differentiation efficiency in a quantitative manner. ASCs treated with the directed cardiomyocyte differentiation protocol obtained a differentiation efficiency of up to 44.03% (39.96%±3.78) at day 15 without any enrichment step. Also, at day 21 we observed by immunofluorescence the positive expression of early, late, and cardiac maturation differentiation markers (Gata-4, cTnT, cardiac myosin heavy chain (MyH), and the sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ ATPase (SERCa2)) in cultures treated with the directed cardiomyocyte differentiation protocol. Unlike other protocols, the use of critical factors of embryonic cardiomyogenesis coupled with a methylcellulose-based medium containing previously reported cardiogenic cytokines (IL-6 and IL-3) seems to be favorable for in vitro cardiomyocyte generation. This novel efficient culture protocol makes ASC-derived cardiac differentiation more efficient. Further investigation is needed to identify an ASC-derived cardiomyocyte surface marker for cardiac enrichment.
Highlights
Stem cells are a source of immature renewable cells that can lead to the development of various cell types; this makes its use attractive for tissue regeneration
MSCs such as adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ASCs) have shown a lower differentiation efficiency depending on the method used, but their lower tumorigenic potential, and costs, as well as easier accessibility, make them attractive to use for scale-up options and for clinical applications [4, 13]
To assess the efficiency of ASC-derived cardiac differentiation, we evaluated the percentage of cardiac troponin T- (cTnT-)positive cells by flow cytometry at day 15
Summary
Stem cells are a source of immature renewable cells that can lead to the development of various cell types; this makes its use attractive for tissue regeneration. Cardiomyocyte differentiation was described before in distinct types of stem cells such as mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) [6, 7], embryonic stem cells (ESCs) [8, 9], and induced pluripotent stem cells (IPSCs) [1, 10, 11]. Despite having a high differentiation efficiency from ESCs and IPSCs, the use of these cells has been restricted in clinic usage because of their tumorigenic potential, dedifferentiation, and higher costs to generate them [2, 12]. MSCs such as adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ASCs) have shown a lower differentiation efficiency depending on the method used, but their lower tumorigenic potential, and costs, as well as easier accessibility, make them attractive to use for scale-up options and for clinical applications [4, 13]
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