Functional Multipotency of Stem Cells: What Do We Need from Them in the Heart?

Abstract

After more than ten years of human research in the field of cardiac regenerative medicine, application of stem cells in different phases of ischemic heart disease has come to age. Randomized clinical trials have demonstrated that stem cell therapy can improve cardiac recovery after the acute phase of myocardial ischemia and in patients with chronic ischemic heart disease, and several efficacy phase III trials with clinical endpoints are on their way. Nevertheless, a complete knowledge on the mechanisms of action of stem cells still remains elusive. Of the three main mechanisms by which stem cells could exert their benefit, paracrine signaling from the administered cells and stimulation of endogenous repair are nowadays the most plausible ones. However, in this review we will define and discuss the concept of stem cell potency and differentiation, will examine the evidence available, and will depict future directions of research.

Protection from cyclophosphamide-induced ovarian damage with bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells during puberty

“…Research on regenerative medicine suggests that stem cells could be used to treat various human diseases, due to their self-renewal capacity and multiplex differentiation potential. Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) are promising for regenerative medicine applications such as renoprotection, cardioprotection, and repair in acute kidney and myocardial injuries [9,10]. However, there is a lack of research about the effectiveness of fertility preservation of stem cells [11].…”

Estado actual de la terapia con células madre en el tratamiento de las cardiopatías: An update

“…Un creciente volumen de evidencia preclínica, avala el gran potencial terapéutico de las células madre pluripotenciales inducidas (iPSC) en patología cardiovascular [9][10][11] . Existen sin embargo, dudas razonables respecto a su eventual efecto tumorigénico y/o inmunogénico, lo que ha dificultado por ahora su traslado a la clínica 12,13 . Considerando su aplicación clínica, haremos referencia a las células madre multipotenciales.…”

“…Las células madre multipotenciales son capaces de diferenciarse a un espectro más limitado de tipos celulares maduros, dentro de un mismo linaje germinal 13 . Se encuentran en prácticamente todo órgano de los organismos multicelulares, independiente de su tasa de recambio celular en condiciones fisiológicas, confinadas en microambientes o nichos que regulan su actividad 4,13 .…”

“…Se encuentran en prácticamente todo órgano de los organismos multicelulares, independiente de su tasa de recambio celular en condiciones fisiológicas, confinadas en microambientes o nichos que regulan su actividad 4,13 . Si bien se presume que las células multipotenciales tendrían función y diferenciación tejido específica, evidencias recientes sugieren que bajo ciertas condiciones pueden reprogramarse y diferenciarse a células de otros tejidos, capacidad conocida como plasticidad o transdiferenciación celular 13,14 . Esto permite obtener células madre de fuentes con una mayor cantidad de células madre y/o más fácil-mente asequibles.…”

Creating the bioartificial myocardium for cardiac repair: challenges and clinical targets

“…Theses cells can be found in a high concentration per ml tissue and can be easily harvested by liposuction [16,43]. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs, potentially autologous) and embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are promising cell sources for myocardial tissue engineering [44,45]. Also non-embryonic parthenogenetic stem cells (PSCs) can be directed toward the cardiac lineage and applied to tissue-engineered heart repair [46].…”