Fig. 2.

Oncostatin M induces dedifferentiation of adult cardiomyocytes. Confocal images of adult rat cardiomyocytes after 7 days in culture stained with α-SM actin (red), sarcomeric α-actinin (green), and DAPI (blue). The upper panel represents merged images of all three channels (blue, red, green). Cultures were pretreated with 2 % FCS for 2 days and then kept in 2 % FCS (con) or stimulated with oncostatin M (OSM). Knock-down of the OSM receptor by siRNA (OSM + siOβ) prevents dedifferentiation. OSM treatment results in a massive loss of mature sarcomeres and morphological changes with typical cell extensions to re-establish cell-to-cell contacts. Scale bars left and middle rows 30 μm, right row 50 μm