Concise Review: Skeletal Muscle Stem Cells and Cardiac Lineage: Potential for Heart Repair

• Published in: Stem cells translational medicine Vol. 3; no. 2; pp. 183 - 193
• Main Authors: Hassan, Narmeen, Tchao, Jason, Tobita, Kimimasa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Durham, NC, USA AlphaMed Press 01.02.2014; Oxford University Press
• Subjects: Adult stem cells; Animals; Cardiac; Cardiomyopathies - pathology; Cardiomyopathies - therapy; Cardiovascular disease; Cell Lineage - physiology; Cell transplantation; Congestive heart failure; Embryos; Heart Failure - pathology; Heart Failure - therapy; Humans; MicroRNAs; Muscle Fibers, Skeletal - cytology; Muscle, Skeletal - cytology; Mutation; Myocardium - cytology; Progenitor cells; Skeletal muscle; Stem cells; Stem Cells - cytology; Structure-function relationships; Tissue-Specific Progenitor and Stem Cells; Tissue-specific stem cells; Adult stem cells; Progenitor cells; Tissue-specific stem cells; Cardiac; Cell transplantation
• ISSN: 2157-6564; 2157-6580
• DOI: 10.5966/sctm.2013-0122

It has been observed that full restoration of myocardial structure and function may be achievable with a combination of ongoing research, creativity, and perseverance. This report summarizes the importance of skeletal muscle stem cells and how they can play a key role to surpass current results in the future and enhance the efficacious implementation of regenerative cell therapy for heart failure. Valuable and ample resources have been spent over the last two decades in pursuit of interventional strategies to treat the unmet demand of heart failure patients to restore myocardial structure and function. At present, it is clear that full restoration of myocardial structure and function is outside our reach from both clinical and basic research studies, but it may be achievable with a combination of ongoing research, creativity, and perseverance. Since the 1990s, skeletal myoblasts have been extensively investigated for cardiac cell therapy of congestive heart failure. Whereas the Myoblast Autologous Grafting in Ischemic Cardiomyopathy (MAGIC) trial revealed that transplanted skeletal myoblasts did not integrate into the host myocardium and also did not transdifferentiate into cardiomyocytes despite some beneficial effects on recipient myocardial function, recent studies suggest that skeletal muscle‐derived stem cells have the ability to adopt a cardiomyocyte phenotype in vitro and in vivo. This brief review endeavors to summarize the importance of skeletal muscle stem cells and how they can play a key role to surpass current results in the future and enhance the efficacious implementation of regenerative cell therapy for heart failure.