The main function of mitochondrial fusion protein 1 （Mfn1） and mitochondrial fusion protein 2 （Mfn2） was originally thought to be just regulating the fusion of mitochondrial outer membrane. But in recent years，many studies on these two proteins show that they are involved in many important cellular physiological processes including proliferation，apoptosis，necrosis and regulation of respiratory function and oxidative metabolism. There are many aspects of the influenceof Mfn1 and Mfn2 on cardiomyocyte，which have not been thoroughly studied yet，sometimes with even contradictoryconclusions. But these two proteins definitely have significant impact on the growth，development and physiological functionof cardiomyocyte. To investigate the function and mechanism of Mfn1 and Mfn2 in various physiological processes of cardiomyocyte is of great significance for in vitro studies of physiological functions of cardiomyocyte and technological development of myocardial tissue engineering and transplantation in vivo. This article mainly focuses on recent research progress of the influence of Mfn1 and Mfn2 on various physiological functions of cardiomyocyte.
The establishing of myocardial tissue engineering techniques not only solve a series of issues that generate in cell and tissue transplantation after myocardial infarction, but also create a platform for selecting better materials and transplantation techniques. However, both experimental animal studies and recent clinical trials indicate that current transplantation techniques still have many defects, mainly including lack of suitable seed cells, low survival rate and low differentiation rate after transplantation. In this context, extracellular matrix （ECM）, as myocardial tissue engineering scaffold materials, has gained increasing attention and become a frontier and focus of medical research in recent years. ECM is no longer merely regarded as a scaffold or a tissue, but plays an important role in providing essential signals to influence major intracellular pathways such as cell proliferation, differentiation and metabolism. The involved models of ECM can be classified into following types：natural biological scaffold materials, synthetic polymer scaffold materials and composite scaffold materials with more balanced physical and biological properties. This review mainly introduces research progress of ECM in myocardial tissue engineering and ECM materials.
ObjectiveTo investigate the feasibility of small molecule compound XAV939 to induce mouse embryonic stem cells (mESC) to differentiate into cardiac myocytes. MethodsWe revived and cultured undifferentiated mESC growing confluently on trophoderm made of mouse embryonic inoblast cell. The mESCs were digested by trypsin to form embryoid bodies (EBs) by handing drop method. After plated, EBs were induced by XAV939 to differentiate into cardiac myocytes. We observed the cardiac myocytes with lightmicroscopy and identified it with immunofluorescence method. Result The XAV939 can effectively induce mESC into cardiac myocytes with the mean efficiency rate of 71.85%±1.05%. The differentiated cardiac myocytes shrinked spanteously and rhythmicly. The cardiac troponin T as the special marker of cardiac myocyte was positive. ConclusionThe small molecule compound XAV939 could effectively induce mES cells into cardiac myocytes.
ObjectiveTo assess the suitability of P (3HB-co-4HB) combined with embryonic stem cells (ESCs) for myocardial patch formation and whether adding vitamin C would improve inductivity or not. Method We extracted mouse embryonic fibrous cell from three clean female white Kunming mouses at a mean body weight of 37.5 grams. We recovered and cultured mouse ESCs. Those mouse embryonic stem cells were obtained from Shanghai Institutes of Biological Sciences. We took pendant-drop method to form embryonic bodies (EBs) and co-cultured them with myocardial patch. The experimental group were cultured in the substate with vitamin C while the control group were cultured in the substate without vitamin C. We immunostained the myocardial patch and observed them by scanning electron microscope. We calculated the differentiation efficiency and mapped the distribution curve of induction time. ResultsThe scattergram showed that the differentiation efficiency increased gradually. The differentiation efficiency of the group with vitamin C was 71.1% and the group without vitamin C was 17.8%. There was a statistical difference between the two groups (P < 0.05). ConclusionOn the biological patch of P (3HB-co-4HB), ESCs could grow, proliferate, and differentiate into myocardial cell and adding vitamin C into it could improve the differentiation efficiency.