Mark A Aminzadeh, Russell G Rogers, Mario Fournier, Rachel E Tobin, Xuan Guan, Martin K Childers, Allen M Andres, David J Taylor, Ahmed Ibrahim, Xiangming Ding, Angelo Torrente, Joshua M Goldhaber, Michael Lewis, Roberta A Gottlieb, Ronald A Victor, Eduardo Marbán
Genetic deficiency of dystrophin leads to disability and premature death in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), affecting the heart as well as skeletal muscle. Here, we report that clinical-stage cardiac progenitor cells, known as cardiosphere-derived cells (CDCs), improve cardiac and skeletal myopathy in the mdx mouse model of DMD. Injection of CDCs into the hearts of mdx mice augments cardiac function, ambulatory capacity, and survival. Exosomes secreted by human CDCs reproduce the benefits of CDCs in mdx mice and in human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived Duchenne cardiomyocytes...
March 13, 2018: Stem Cell Reports