Journal of Stem Cell Research & Therapy

Eckhard Alt

Publications

• Research Article
  Improved Method for Isolation of Neonatal Rat Cardiomyocytes with Increased Yield of C-Kit+ Cardiac Progenitor Cells
  Author(s): Jennifer Rutering, Matthias Ilmer, Alejandro Recio, Michael Coleman, Jody Vykoukal and Eckhard AltJennifer Rutering, Matthias Ilmer, Alejandro Recio, Michael Coleman, Jody Vykoukal and Eckhard Alt
  
  Cell therapy represents a promising new paradigm for treatment of heart disease, a major cause of death in the industrialized world. The recent discovery of tissue resident c-Kit+ cardiac progenitor cells (CPCs) has fueled scientific efforts to exploit these cells therapeutically for regenerative interventions, and primary culture of cardiomyocytes is a common in-vitro model to investigate basic molecular mechanisms underlying cardiac degeneration and regeneration. Current protocols for cardiomyocyte isolation frequently result in low cell yield and insufficient depletion of fibroblasts, which then overgrow the cardiomyocytes in culture. In this protocol we describe an improved method for the isolation of neonatal rat cardiomyocytes that also enables enhanced yields of CPCs. Gentle techniques of enzymatic and mechanical tissue processing ensure high cell numbers and viability, while s.. View More»
  DOI: 10.4172/2157-7633.1000305

  Abstract PDF