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Telocytes pp 229–239Cite as

Cardiac Telocytes in Regeneration of Myocardium After Myocardial Infarction

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Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 913))

Abstract

Recent research progress has revealed that a novel type of interstitial cells termed cardiac telocytes (CTs) is found in the interstitium of the heart. We demonstrated that CTs are distributed both longitudinally and within the cross network in the myocardium and that the density of CTs in the atrium-atria and base of the myocardium is higher than that in the middle of the myocardium, while the density of CTs in the epicardium is higher than that in the endocardium. In addition, we documented, for the first time, that the network of CTs in the infarct zone of the myocardium is destroyed during myocardial infarction (MI). This fact shows that, in addition to the death of cardiac myocytes, the previously unrecognized death of CTs is an important mechanism that contributes to the structural damage and poor healing and regeneration observed in the infarcted myocardium. Furthermore, we demonstrated, for the first time, that transplantation of CTs in cases of MI decreases the infarct size and improves myocardial function. The mechanisms behind the beneficial effects of CT transplantation are increased angiogenesis at the infarct site and the border zone, decreased fibrosis in the infarct and non-infarct zones, improved pathological reconstruction of the left ventricle, and increased regeneration of CTs in the infarct zone. Our findings reveal that CTs can be specifically identified by the following characteristics: very small cell bodies, extreme prolongation with some dilation, predisposition to cell death under ischemia, and expression of molecular markers such as c-Kit, CD34, vimentin, and PDGFR-β. CTs act as a structural and functional niche microenvironment in the myocardium and play an essential role in maintaining the integrity of the myocardium and in the regeneration of damaged myocardium.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Collaborated grant for HK-Macao-TW of Ministry of Science and Technology (2012DFH30060); the National Natural Science Foundation of China (30973158, 81170324, 81470433); the Research grant of the Department of Education of Guangdong (20122gjhz0003); the Guangdong Key grant for Natural Science Foundation (04105826; S2012020010895); the 863 grant (2007AA02Z105); the Guangdong grant for Science and Technology Development (2004B30601007); and the International collaborated grant of Guangdong (2009B050900007; 2013B051000062).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine, Ministry of Education, Jinan University, No. 601, Huang Pu Da Dao Zhong, Guangzhou, 510632, China

    Liao Zhaofu & Cai Dongqing

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  1. Liao Zhaofu
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  2. Cai Dongqing
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Correspondence to Cai Dongqing .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University Medical School, Shanghai, China

    Xiangdong Wang

  2. Department of Cellular and Molecular Med, Carol Davila Univ of Medicine&Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania

    Dragos Cretoiu

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Zhaofu, L., Dongqing, C. (2016). Cardiac Telocytes in Regeneration of Myocardium After Myocardial Infarction. In: Wang, X., Cretoiu, D. (eds) Telocytes. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 913. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-1061-3_15

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