Cardiac Fibroblasts Adopt Osteogenic Fates and Can Be Targeted to Attenuate Pathological Heart Calcification.

ABSTRACT: Mammalian tissues calcify with age and injury. Analogous to bone formation, osteogenic cells are thought to be recruited to the affected tissue and induce mineralization. In the heart, calcification of cardiac muscle leads to conduction system disturbances and is one of the most common pathologies underlying heart blocks. However the cell identity and mechanisms contributing to pathological heart muscle calcification remain unknown. Using lineage tracing, murine models of heart calcification and in vivo transplantation assays, we show that cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) adopt an osteoblast cell-like fate and contribute directly to heart muscle calcification. Small-molecule inhibition of ENPP1, an enzyme that is induced upon injury and regulates bone mineralization, significantly attenuated card

SUBMITTER: Pillai ICL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5291784 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature