Protocols for cardiac differentiation of embryonic stem cells.
Methods. 2008 Jun;45(2):168-71. Epub 2008 May 29.Pucéat M.
INSERM-Evry University UMR861, I-Stem, 5, Rue Desbruères, 91030 Evry, France. mpuceat@istem.genethon.fr
Both mouse and human embryonic stem (ES) cells provide a powerful model of early cardiogenesis. Furthermore engineering of cardiac progenitors or cardiomyocytes from ES cells offers a tool for drug screening in toxicology or to search for molecules to improve and scale up the process of cardiac differentiation using high throughput screening technology. Spontaneous differentiation of ES cells into cardiomyocytes is however limited. Herein, I described simple protocols to commit both mouse and human ES cells toward a cardiac lineage and in turn to improve the process of in vitro differentiation.
