Migration of Cardiac Cells: Hot Topics that have not Attracted Clinical Attention

Figures

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  Figure 1. Schematic diagram of migration of myocardial stem cells to the atherosclerotic area of coronary arteries (This figure is drawn based on our research results).

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  Figure 2. Patterns of force generation and transmission in an epithelial cell sheet (adapted from reference 12). (A) An active leader cell generates forces at the leading edge and transmits these forces to follower cells via cell-cell junctions. The endothelial cells of the myocardium possess this force transmission mode. (B) Each cell within the monolayer generates its own contractile forces. Forces are balanced locally, resulting in no force transmission through cell-cell junctions. Early developing myocardial cells exhibit this migration pattern. (C) Tug-of-war force generation and transmission occurs, where local tractions generated by each cell are transmitted through cell-cell junctions to create a global gradient of tensile stress. Both fibroblasts and endothelial cells in the myocardium exhibit this migration pattern.

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  Figure 3. Schematic diagram of the migration process and mechanism of fibroblasts.

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  Figure 4. Schematic diagram of migration of stem cells in pericardial fluid to myocardial tissue.

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  Figure 5. Schematic diagram of stem cell migration along vascular endothelial cells. One of the key steps for stem cells to enter the infarcted area is to adhere to and penetrate the vascular endothelial cell barrier. Cell adhesion factors such as intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and its receptors VLA-4 and LFA-1 play a crucial role in the endothelial adhesion and transendothelial migration of stem cells. Optimizing the expression or function of these adhesion factors can enhance the efficiency of stem cell homing.