In Vitro Differentiation of Human Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells into Cardiomyocyte-like Cells

Objective: human mesenchymal stem cells (mscs) have been recognized as potential candidates for cell therapy. in the present study, the ability of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hbmscs) to differentiate into cells with characteristics of cardiomyocytes in vitro was investigated. materials and methods: hbmscs cultured in enriched medium were treated with oxytocin and 5-azacytidin. the differentiation of hbmscs into cells that expressed cardiacspecific genes such as α3-actinin, alpha - myosin heavy chain (α-mhc), beta - myosin heavy chain (β-mhc), myosin light chain isoform 2a (mlc2a), myosin light chain isoform 2v (mlc2v), artial natriuretic factor (anf), gata4 and oxytocin receptor (otr) was investigated by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (rt-pcr). protein expressions of β-actinin and troponin i-c in the cells were analyzed through immunofluorescence staining. results: mscs are spindle-shaped with irregular processes. cells treated with oxytocin and 5-azacytidin connected with adjoining cells to form myotube-like structures. expressions of a number of cardiac-specific genes were detected by rt-pcr. immunofluorescence staining analysis showed that the differentiated cells stained positively for β-actinin and troponin i-c protein. conclusion: these results indicate that adult hbmscs can differentiate into cardiomyocytes in vitro by treatment with oxytocin and 5-azacytidin, and can be considered as a source of cells for cellular cardiomyoplasty.