| First Author | Sultana N | Year | 2015 |
| Journal | Nat Commun | Volume | 6 |
| Pages | 8701 | PubMed ID | 26515110 |
| Mgi Jnum | J:227907 | Mgi Id | MGI:5703996 |
| Doi | 10.1038/ncomms9701 | Citation | Sultana N, et al. (2015) Resident c-kit(+) cells in the heart are not cardiac stem cells. Nat Commun 6:8701 |
| abstractText | Identifying a bona fide population of cardiac stem cells (CSCs) is a critical step for developing cell-based therapies for heart failure patients. Previously, cardiac c-kit(+) cells were reported to be CSCs with a potential to become myocardial, endothelial and smooth muscle cells in vitro and after cardiac injury. Here we provide further insights into the nature of cardiac c-kit(+) cells. By targeting the c-kit locus with multiple reporter genes in mice, we find that c-kit expression rarely co-localizes with the expression of the cardiac progenitor and myogenic marker Nkx2.5, or that of the myocardial marker, cardiac troponin T (cTnT). Instead, c-kit predominantly labels a cardiac endothelial cell population in developing and adult hearts. After acute cardiac injury, c-kit(+) cells retain their endothelial identity and do not become myogenic progenitors or cardiomyocytes. Thus, our work strongly suggests that c-kit(+) cells in the murine heart are endothelial cells and not CSCs. |
