Abstract
We aimed to identify and quantify CD117+ and CD90+ endogenous cardiac progenitor cells (CPC) in human healthy and diseased hearts. We hypothesize that these cells perform a locally acting, contributing function in overcoming medical conditions of the heart by endogenous means. Human myocardium biopsies were obtained from 23 patients with the following diagnoses: Dilatative cardiomyopathy (DCM), ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM), myocarditis, and controls from healthy cardiac patients. High-resolution scanning microscopy of the whole slide enabled a computer-based immunohistochemical quantification of CD117 and CD90. Those signals were evaluated by Definiens Tissue Phenomics® Technology. Co-localization of CD117 and CD90 was determined by analyzing comparable serial sections. CD117+/CD90+ cardiac cells were detected in all biopsies. The highest expression of CD90 was revealed in the myocarditis group. CD117 was significantly higher in all patient groups, compared to healthy specimens (*p < 0.05). The highest co-expression was found in the myocarditis group (6.75 ± 3.25 CD90+CD117+ cells/mm2) followed by ICM (4 ± 1.89 cells/mm2), DCM (1.67 ± 0.58 cells/mm2), and healthy specimens (1 ± 0.43 cells/mm2). We conclude that the human heart comprises a fraction of local CD117+ and CD90+ cells. We hypothesize that these cells are part of local endogenous progenitor cells due to the co-expression of CD90 and CD117. With novel digital image analysis technologies, a quantification of the CD117 and CD90 signals is available. Our experiments reveal an increase of CD117 and CD90 in patients with myocarditis.
Highlights
The World Health Organization reports cardiovascular diseases as the main cause of 29% of global death each year (Lozano et al, 2012)
The CD117+ signals were identified both in cardiomyocytes and in cells which are located between the muscle cells
On comparison of the acute and chronic disease states of the heart in this study, it is striking to see that the highest expression of CD90+ cells was detected in the myocarditis group (Figure 11A)
Summary
The World Health Organization reports cardiovascular diseases as the main cause of 29% of global death each year (Lozano et al, 2012). In the European region, cardiovascular diseases cause 4 million deaths; which is, 45% of death per year (Townsend et al, 2015). In all countries of Europe, the primary cause of death in women is cardiovascular diseases, Progenitor Cells in Human Hearts estimated to be 51% of all-cause mortality in women. Due to the profound importance of cardiovascular diseases, the natural endogenous regenerative capacity of the human heart has been a topic of debate for decades. Resident cardiac progenitor or stem cells might play a vital role toward the natural regeneration capacity of the heart. Cardiac progenitor cells (CPCs) can replicate in response to some pathological conditions, and they are able to play an active role in the regeneration of injured parts of the heart (Gonzalez et al, 2008)
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