How To Grow Muscle Cells In A Dish

November 14, 2006

Smooth muscle cells (SMCs) are a crucial cellular component of many

parts of the body, including blood vessels, the intestines, and the

lungs. SMCs in the blood vessels are involved in several causes of

heart disease and understanding how SMCs are generated is important

for designing therapies for such diseases. It is also knowledge that

could be used to engineer tissues in the laboratory, for example new

blood vessels for use in bypass surgery.

In a study that appeared online on November 9, in advance of

publication in the December print issue of the Journal of Clinical

Investigation, Verfaille and colleagues at the University

of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, show that SMCs can be

generated from multipotent adult progenitor cells (MAPCs) isolated

from the bone marrow of rats, mice, pigs, and humans. These cells

only generated SMCs if exposed to the soluble factor TGF-beta or TGF-

beta and another soluble factor PDGFB. SMC development from MAPCs

occurred along the normal pathway of SMC development and the cells

that were generated had all the functions of normal SMCs. This study

therefore identifies a model system for studying the effects of

potential therapeutics on SMC development and SMCs. It also

describes a potential source of SMCs for engineering tissues.

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