Human cardiac stem cell differentiation is regulated by a mircrine mechanism.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Cardiac stem cells (CSCs) delivered to the infarcted heart generate a large number of small fetal-neonatal cardiomyocytes that fail to acquire the differentiated phenotype. However, the interaction of CSCs with postmitotic myocytes results in the formation of cells with adult characteristics.

Methods and results

On the basis of results of in vitro and in vivo assays, we report that the commitment of human CSCs (hCSCs) to the myocyte lineage and the generation of mature working cardiomyocytes are influenced by microRNA-499 (miR-499), which is barely detectable in hCSCs but is highly expressed in postmitotic human cardiomyocytes. miR-499 traverses gap junction channels and translocates to structurally coupled hCSCs favoring their differentiation into functionally co

SUBMITTER: Hosoda T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3066266 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature