Journal: PLoS ONE
Article Title: Cardiogel: A Nano-Matrix Scaffold with Potential Application in Cardiac Regeneration Using Mesenchymal Stem Cells
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0114697
Figure Lengend Snippet: (A) Cardiac explants cultured on cardiogel and gelatin coated controls (B) Cytocompatibility studies on cardiogel by MTT Assay (C) Cardiomyogenic differentiation of BMSCs on cardiogel and gelatin coated controls. Arrows indicate multi-nucleation and three-dimensional myotubule-like formation (D) Angiogenesis studies on cardiogel and gelatin coated controls by in vitro tube formation assay. Arrows indicate formation of capillary-like structures and polygon structures (E) Quantitative RT-PCR analysis for a panel of cardiomyogenic differentiation markers, normalized using Actb as internal control. Results were expressed as ratio of fold change in mRNA expression in BMSCs cultured on cardiogel compared to gelatin coated controls (F) Western Blotting for cardiac markers in BMSCs cultured on cardiogel compared to gelatin coated controls. ACTB was used as internal control (G) Quantitative analysis for a panel of angiogenic markers, normalized using ACTB as internal control. Results were expressed as ratio of fold change in mRNA expression in EA.hy926 cells cultured on cardiogel compared to gelatin coated controls; Scale bar = 100 µm; All results are expressed as average and standard deviation in case of three independent experiments (n = 3; mean ± S.D); *p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***p<0.001; Abbreviations: Gata4/GATA4, GATA binding protein 4; Nkx2.5, NK2 homeobox 5; Mef2c, Myocyte-specific enhancer factor 2C; Mlc2v, Myosin light chain 2v; Cx43/CX43, Connexin 43; BNP, Brain natriuretic peptide; Actc1, Alpha cardiac muscle actin 1; cTnI, Cardiac Troponin I; Adra1a/1b, Adrenergic receptor, alpha 1a/1b; Chrm1/2, Cholinergic receptor, muscarinic 1/2; Actb/ACTB, Beta Actin; ACTA1, Alpha sacromeric actin; FLT1, FMS-related tyrosine kinase 1; KDR, Kinase insert domain receptor; CDH5, Cadherin 5.
Article Snippet: The transplantation of Bone Marrow derived Stromal/Stem Cells (BMSCs) cultured on such a nanomatrix has potential applications in regenerative therapy for Myocardial Infarction (MI).
Techniques: Cell Culture, MTT Assay, In Vitro, Tube Formation Assay, Quantitative RT-PCR, Control, Expressing, Western Blot, Standard Deviation, Binding Assay