SCIENCE UP THE WORLD
15TH INTERNATIONAL STUDENT CONGRESS OF MEDICAL SCIENCES
JUNE 3RD - 6TH 2008
Prof. Pieter A. Doevendans
Current state of stem cell use for cardiac regenerationHeart Lung Center Utrecht, Department of Cardiology, University Medical Center Utrecht It is clear that there are two sources of stem cells that can generate cardiomyocytes and potentially there is a third. The first source is the embryonic stem cell. There is sufficient proof for the potential of these cells to differentiate into cardiomyocytes. In addition, these cells have been shown to survive and integrate in myocardial tissue (human cells in porcine and murine hearts). A more recently described population of cells are the so celled cardiac progenitor cells. These human cells are resident in the heart of adults, although the number appears to decrease with increasing age. The cells can be isolated form the human heart and appear to differentiate into various cardiac ells including cardiomyocytes. Whether these endogenous cells have any role in cardiac regeneration is still unclear. Potentially these progenitor cells represent the cardiac repair resources, but with a very small impact in the case of damage. The last source is provided by the mesenchymal cells of which some researchers say that also these cells can differentiate and mature into the cardiac phenotype. It is well established that these cells play a role in immunomodulation in vivo, it is to early to claim an important role in cardiac regeneration. Currently, no unequivocal proof is available for any other stem cell source to be able to generate muscle. The role of the above described cell lines in cardiac regeneration in vivo, remains to be determined. The generation of cardiomycytes in the laboratory is feasible, however the current available transplant techniques are very inefficient. A solution here is awaiting new instruments or techniques for cardiac cell injections or an alternative route could be provided through tissue engineering.
