Unfortunately cardiovascular disease is very common, which makes it important to gain a better understanding of how we can restore the 'broken' heart after injury . Progenitor cells can serve as... Show moreUnfortunately cardiovascular disease is very common, which makes it important to gain a better understanding of how we can restore the 'broken' heart after injury . Progenitor cells can serve as the 'building blocks ' for cardiac repair. Cardiac progenitor cells, which are the focus of t his thesis, can be derived from either the myocardial (CPCs) or epicardial (EPDCs) layer of the heart. Based on the idea that we want to isolate CPCs and EPDCs from the human heart and eventually use these cells for cardiac regeneration, in this thesis the f ollowing questions were investigated: • Which marker scan recognize CPCs within human cardiac tissue and how can we efficiently isolate EPDCs? ( Pa r t 1) • Which factors play a role in CPC and EPDC behavior? (Part 2) In Chapter 3, 4 and 5 novel antibodies for the isolation of CPCs are introduced and a new method to isolate and expand EPDCs is presented in Chapter 6. We studied human CPC to cardiomyocyte differentiation in Chapter 7 and questioned, in Chapter 8, whether extraembryonic endoderm-derived cells can support human cardiomyocyte differ entiation in vitro. Finally, we studied the TGFbet a signaling pathway, including its co-receptor Endoglin, in regulating EPDC behavior in Chapter 9 and 10. Show less
In the current thesis the embryological origin of the developing atrioventricular (AV) canal and atrioventricular node (AVN) was investigated, using different techniques, including... Show moreIn the current thesis the embryological origin of the developing atrioventricular (AV) canal and atrioventricular node (AVN) was investigated, using different techniques, including immunohistochemical staining, lineage tracing and genetic characterization. In addition, the role of the RHOA-ROCK signaling pathway on development of key components of the cardiac conduction system (CCS) was studied. Finally, the potential role of the epicardium in autonomic modulation of the heartbeat was investigated. Show less
