Enhancing the Cardiogenic Potential of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells via Extracellular Matrix Proteins

Current in vitro models of cardiogenic differentiation include a variety of manipulations and stimulating agents, which interfere with the application of such models for preclinical drug testing. So, the aim of this study was to develop an approach for cardiogenic differentiation in vitro with a minimum of manipulations and to assess the influence of the extracellular matrix protein collagen IV on the cardiogenic potential of human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Cardiogenic markers were analyzed by immunofluorescence staining and Western blot analysis. The results showed that collagen IV increased the cardiac marker GATA4 and altered the level of muscle actin isoforms, alpha-smooth muscle actin and alpha-cardiac muscle actin, in two different lines of human MSCs. The results indicate that the use of matrices containing collagen IV may increase the cardiogenic potential of human MSCs and may be a promising approach to obtain an in vitro model for cardiogenic differentiation suitable for preclinical drug discovery.