Differentiation of brown adipose-derived stem cells into cardiomyocyte-like cells is regulated by a combination of low 5-azacytidine concentration and bone morphogenetic protein 4.

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

• Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
• Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
• Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
• Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
• Emerging · Emerging topic under active research

Abstract (original English)

Adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) could be an ideal candidate for seed cells to regenerate damaged heart tissue. This study examined and compared the cardio-myogenic differentiation efficacy of neonatal rat brown ADSCs (rbADSCs) treated with either 5-azacytidine (5-AZA), bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4), or lower doses of both molecules. Briefly, by investigating the protein expression of cardiac-specific markers (i.e., cardiac troponin-I, α-sarcomeric actinin, sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca 2+ -ATPase, and connexin 43), our data indicated that rbADSCs could be differentiated into cardiomyocyte-like cells by all three treatments. By quantitatively measuring the number of cells with positive staining for the above markers, we found that the low-dose combined treatment showed higher differentiation efficiency compared to standard dose 5-AZA and BMP4 treatment. Similarly, the expression levels of these proteins as determined by western blotting were higher in the low-dose combination group than in the standard dose 5-AZA and BMP4 groups. Also, the combined strategy maintained the decreased cell viability caused by cytotoxicity of 5-AZA, probably through reducing the ratio of apoptotic rbADSCs. Furthermore, the extracellular regulated protein kinase (ERK) signaling pathways participate in the differentiation process, but the observed effects between the BMP4 and 5-Aza treatments are

Evidence level

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

Browse all related research

Filter the research library by this study's title keywords, author, or publication year.