Adult cardiac stem cells are multipotent and robustly myogenic: c-kit expression is necessary but not sufficient for their identification.

ABSTRACT: Multipotent adult resident cardiac stem cells (CSCs) were first identified by the expression of c-kit, the stem cell factor receptor. However, in the adult myocardium c-kit alone cannot distinguish CSCs from other c-kit-expressing (c-kit^pos) cells. The adult heart indeed contains a heterogeneous mixture of c-kit^pos cells, mainly composed of mast and endothelial/progenitor cells. This heterogeneity of cardiac c-kit^pos cells has generated confusion and controversy about the existence and role of CSCs in the adult heart. Here, to unravel CSC identity within the heterogeneous c-kit-expressing cardiac cell population, c-kit^pos cardiac cells were separated through CD45-positive or -negative sorting followed by c-kit^pos sorting. The blood/end

SUBMITTER: Vicinanza C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5686347 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature