Differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells in dilated cardiomy-opathy

AIM: To investigate the feasibility of differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) into cardiomyocytes and vascular endothelial cells in dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). METHODS: 20 rabbits were randomly divided into two groups. MSCs were isolated from bone marrow and cultured. Adriamycin was applied to the two groups to create rabbit DCM models. At 3 weeks after the creation of DCM models, the experiment group animals received intramyocardial injection of autologous MSCs. 4 weeks after transplantation, the implanted sites were examined to identify the labelled cells and to investigate its differentiation through immunofluorescence. RESULTS: At 4 weeks after the MSCs transplantation, the implanted cells were found in the experiment group and some differentiated into cardiomyocytes and vascular endothelial cells, which was not founded in the control group. CONCLUSION: Autologous bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells can differentiate into cardiomyocytes and vascular endothelial cells in dilated cardiomyopathy.