Biological properties of cardiac mesenchymal stem cells in rats with diabetic cardiomyopathy

Abstract Cardiomyopathy is a major outcome in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) and contributes to the high morbidity/mortality observed in this disease. Aims To evaluate several biological properties of cardiac mesenchymal stem cells (cMSCs) in a rat model of streptozotocin-induced DM with concomitant diabetic cardiomyopathy. Main methods After 10 weeks of DM induction, diabetic and control rats were assessed using ECG and ventricular hemodynamics monitoring. Then, the hearts were excised and processed for histology and for extracting non-cardiomyocytic cells. A pool of these cells was plated for a colony forming units-fibroblasts (CFU-F) assay in order to estimate the number of cMSCs. The remaining cells were expanded to assess their proliferation rate as well as their osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation ability. Key findings DM rats presented intense hyperglycemia and changes in ECG, LV hemodynamic, cardiac mass index and fibrosis, indicating presence of DCM. The CFU-F assay revealed a higher number of cardiac CFU-Fs in DM rats (10.4 ± 1.1 CFU-F/10 5 total cells versus 7.6 ± 0.7 CFU-F/10 5 total cells in control rats, p p p Significance The findings suggest, for the first time, that in chronic DM rats with overt DCM, cMSCs increase in number and exhibit changes in several functional properties, which could be implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetic cardiomyopathy.