Work

Cardiomyocyte proliferation and heart regeneration in adult Xenopus tropicalis evidenced by a transgenic reporter line

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: Cardiomyocyte proliferation in adult Xenopus tropicalis during heart regeneration has remained largely contentious due to the absence of genetic evidence. Here, we generated a transgenic reporter line Tg(mlc2:H2C) expressing mCherry specifically in cardiomyocyte nuclei driven by the promoter of myosin light chain 2 (mlc2). Using the reporter line, we found that traditional whole-cell staining is not a rigorous way to identify cardiomyocytes in adult Xenopus tropicalis when using a cryosection with common thickness (5 μm) which leading to a high error, but this deviation could be reduced by increasing section thickness. In addition, the reporter line confirmed that apex resection injury greatly increased the proliferation of mlc2 + cardiomyocytes at 3-30 days post-resection (dpr), thereby regenerating the lost cardiac muscle by 30 dpr in adult Xenopus tropicalis . Our findings from the reporter line have rigorously defined cardiomyocyte proliferation in adult heart upon injury, thereby contributing heart regeneration in adult Xenopus tropicalis .

Source: npj Regenerative Medicine

DOI: 10.1038/s41536-024-00384-w