Human Cardiomyocytes Prior to Birth by Integration-Free Reprogramming of Amniotic Fluid Cells

This study presents transgene-free human amniotic fluid-derived cardiomyocytes (AF-CMs) for potential therapy in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications. Using 8–10 ml of amniotic fluid harvested at 20 weeks gestation from normal pregnancies, a mixed population of atrial, ventricular, and nodal AF-CMs were reliably generated after Sendai virus reprogramming toward pluripotency. Functional characterization of purified populations of beating AF-CMs revealed normal calcium transients and appropriate chronotropic responses after β-adrenergic agonist stimulation in comparison with dermal fibroblast controls. Because AF-CMs can be generated in fewer than 16 weeks, this approach may be ideally suited for eventual clinical translation at birth in children with prenatally diagnosed cardiac anomalies.

Source: Stem Cells Translational Medicine - November 16, 2016 Category: Stem Cells Authors: Jiang, G., Herron, T. J., Di Bernardo, J., Walker, K. A., OShea, K. S., Kunisaki, S. M. Tags: Amniotic Stem Cells, Cardiac Stem Cells, Pluripotent Stem Cells, Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Fetal and Neonatal Stem Cells, Skin-Derived Precursors/Progenitors Source Type: research