Assessment of the feasibility of human amniotic membrane stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes in vitro

Hsiu-Man Shih; Yi-Chen Chen; Yen-Ting Yeh; Fu-Shiang Peng; Shinn-Chih Wu

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e28398

Assessment of the feasibility of human amniotic membrane stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes in vitro

Heliyon. 2024 Mar 19;10(7):e28398. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e28398. eCollection 2024 Apr 15.

Authors

Hsiu-Man Shih¹, Yi-Chen Chen^{1

2}, Yen-Ting Yeh^{1

3}, Fu-Shiang Peng³, Shinn-Chih Wu^{1

2

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Animal Science and Technology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
² Institute of Biotechnology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
³ Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, New Taipei City, Taiwan.
⁴ Center for Biotechnology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.

Abstract

Myocardial infarction (MI) is a leading cause of death worldwide, resulting in extensive loss of cardiomyocytes and subsequent heart failure. Inducing cardiac differentiation of stem cells is a potential approach for myocardial regeneration therapy to improve post-MI prognosis. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have several advantages, including immune privilege and multipotent differentiation potential. This study aimed to explore the feasibility of chemically inducing human amniotic membrane MSCs (hAMSCs) to differentiate into cardiomyocytes in vitro. Human amniotic membrane (AM) samples were obtained from routine cesarean sections at Far Eastern Memorial Hospital. The isolated cells exhibited spindle-shaped morphology and expressed surface antigens CD73, CD90, CD105, and CD44, while lacking expression of CD19, CD11b, CD19, CD45, and HLA-DR. The SSEA-1, SSEA-3, and SSEA-4 markers were also positive, and the cells displayed the ability for tri-lineage differentiation into adipocytes, chondrocytes, and osteoblasts. The expression levels of MLC2v, Nkx2.5, and MyoD were analyzed using qPCR after applying various protocols for chemical induction, including BMP4, ActivinA, 5-azacytidine, CHIR99021, and IWP2 on hAMSCs. The group treated with 5 ng/ml BMP4, 10 ng/ml Activin A, 10 μM 5-azacytidine, 7.5 μM CHIR99021, and 5 μM IWP 2 expressed the highest levels of these genes. Furthermore, immunofluorescence staining demonstrated the expression of α-actinin and Troponin T in this group. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that hAMSCs can be chemically induced to differentiate into cardiomyocyte-like cells in vitro. However, to improve the functionality of the differentiated cells, further investigation of inductive protocols and regimens is needed.