Activation of Notch1 signalling promotes multi-lineage differentiation of c-KitPOS/NKX2.5POS bone marrow stem cells: implication in stem cell translational medicine

Transplantation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) can repair injured hearts. However, whether BMSC populations contain cells with cardiac stem cell characteristics is ill-defined. We report here that Notch signalling can promote differentiation of c-KitPOS/NKX2.5POS BMSCs into cardiomyocyte-like cells. Total BMSCs were isolated from Sprague–Dawley rat femurs and c-KitPOS cells were purified. c-KitPOS/NKX2.5POS cells were isolated by...