c-kit+ Cells Minimally Contribute Cardiomyocytes to the Heart

By J. V. van Berlo, Onur Kanisicak, Marjorie Maillet, Ronald J. Vagnozzi, J. Karch, Suh-Chin J. Lin, R. Middleton, Eduardo Marbán, J. Molkentin. Nature, 2014

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If and how the heart regenerates after an injury event is highly debated. c-kit-expressing cardiac progenitor cells have been reported as the primary source for generation of new myocardium after injury. Here we generated two genetic approaches in mice to examine whether endogenous c-kit+ cells contribute differentiated cardiomyocytes to the heart during development, with ageing or after injury in adulthood. A complementary DNA encoding either Cre recombinase or a tamoxifen-inducible MerCreMer chimaeric protein was targeted to the Kit locus in mice and then bred with reporter lines to permanently mark cell lineage. Endogenous c-kit+ cells did produce new cardiomyocytes within the heart, although at a percentage of approximately 0.03 or less, and if a preponderance towards cellular fusion is considered, the percentage falls to below approximately 0.008. By contrast, c-kit+ cells amply generated cardiac endothelial cells. Thus, endogenous c-kit+ cells can generate cardiomyocytes within the heart, although probably at a functionally insignificant level.

Subfields: Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine, Molecular Biology, Surgery

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/113b6bc1eb65ab01eeb6558357994a9bebdce08b

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