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. 2014 May 5;6(6):760–777. doi: 10.1002/emmm.201303626

Figure 5. Endogenous cardioblasts differentiate into mature myocytes after transplantation into recipient hearts.

Figure 5

  1. Study schematic. FACS-sorted GFP+ cardioblasts activated post-MI were injected into non-injured (n = 3) or infarcted (n = 3) hearts of non-transgenic background mice.
  2. Confocal microscopy in tissue sections from uninjured hearts revealed rare instances of GFP+ cardiomyocytes 3 months post-injection. GFP+ cardiomyocytes appeared fully mature and were connected by gap junctions [connexin 43 (Cx 43)] to neighboring GFP− myocytes. Images on the right are high-power images of highlighted areas on left [blue: DAPI, green: GFP, red: α-sarcomeric actin (αSA), purple: Cx 43].
  3. Fluorescence micrograph of a GFP+ cardiomyocyte after enzymatic dissociation of an uninjured heart on a Langendorff apparatus. Image on the right is a high-power image of inset on left (scale bars, 50 μm) [green: GFP, bright field (BF)].
  4. Confocal microscopy of tissue sections from infarcted hearts revealed rare instances of GFP+ cardiomyocytes in the infarct border zone 3 months post-injection (blue: DAPI, green: GFP, red: αSA).