Preliminary Research on a Mesenchymal Stem Cell-model for Screening Traditional Chinese Medicines

The authors focused their attention on the establishment of a mesenchymal stem cell(MSC) model for screening traditional Chinese medicines(TCMs) so as to investigate the effects of Shuanglong Formula(SLF) components(Ginsenosides and salvianolic acids) and ingredients(ginsenoside Rb1 and salvianolic acid B) on cardiomyocyte differentiation from MSCs.The SLF components were analyzed and quantified by HPLC-TOF-MS.Cardiomyocyte differentiation was induced by culturing MSCs in the induction medium supplemented with SLF ingredients,SLF components,5-azacytidine(5-aza),5-aza+SLF ingredients and 5-aza+SLF components,respectively,for up to 30 d,and evulated by the expression of Cardiac-specific myosin heavy chain(MHC) and troponin I(TnI) via immunofluoresent staining.Slow growth rate and changed morphology were observed during cardiomyocyte differentiation.After 20 d of induction,differentiating MSCs were positive for MHC and TnI staining.The effects of SLF components were better than those of SLF ingredients.Taken together,SLF can induce the differentiation of MSCs into cardiomyogenic cells in vitro,and MSCs can be used as a powerful tool for screening TCMs.