The goal of this project was to determine whether the originating strain of mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells affects the maintenance of their pluripotency under uniform culture conditions. ES cells from two strains of mice, E14 and C2J, were tested. Both ES cell lines were cultured in KOSR + 2i medium and then injected into C57BL/6J blastocysts. Our results demonstrate that this medium could support both E14 and C2J ES cells to keep their pluripotency, though E14 ES cells were found to have a higher chimeric rate than C2J ES cells. However, analysis by backcrossing revealed that C2J and E14 ES cells have the same ability for germline transmission. Our results demonstrate that ES cells derived from E14 and C2J cells have the same capacity for germline transmission when injected into C57BL/6J blastocysts; however, due to the limitation of mixed genetic background between E14 cells and host C57BL/6J embryos, C2J ES cells are preferable to E14 ES cells for use in gene-targeting and should become the cell line of choice for the generation of genetically engineered mutant mouse lines.

Heart failure is a leading cause of death worldwide. Current therapies only delay progression of the cardiac disease or replace the diseased heart with cardiac transplantation. Stem cells represent a recently discovered novel approach to the treatment of cardiac failure that may facilitate the replacement of diseased cardiac tissue and subsequently lead to improved cardiac function and cardiac regeneration.

A stem cell is defined as a cell with the properties of being clonogenic, self-renewing, and multipotent. In response to intercellular signalling or environmental stimuli, stem cells differentiate into cells derived from any of the three primary germ layers: ectoderm, endoderm, and mesoderm, a powerful advantage for regenerative therapies. Meanwhile, a cardiac progenitor cell is a multipotent cell that can differentiate into cells of any of the cardiac lineages, including endothelial cells and cardiomyocytes.

Stem cells can be classified into three categories: (1) adult stem cells, (2) embryonic stem cells, and (3) induced pluripotential cells. Adult stem cells have been identified in numerous organs and tissues in adults, including bone-marrow, skeletal muscle, adipose tissue, and, as was recently discovered, the heart. Embryonic stem cells are derived from the inner cell mass of the blastocyst stage of the developing embryo. Finally through transcriptional reprogramming, somatic cells, such as fibroblasts, can be converted into induced pluripotential cells that resemble embryonic stem cells.

Four classes of stem cells that may lead to cardiac regeneration are: (1) Embryonic stem cells, (2) Bone Marrow derived stem cells, (3) Skeletal myoblasts, and (4) Cardiac stem cells and cardiac progenitor cells. Embryonic stem cells are problematic because of several reasons: (1) the formation of teratomas, (2) potential immunologic cellular rejection, (3) low efficiency of their differentiation into cardiomyocytes, typically 1% in culture, and (4) ethical and political issues. As of now, bone marrow derived stem cells have not been proven to differentiate reproducibly and reliably into cardiomyocytes. Skeletal myoblasts have created in vivo myotubes but have not electrically integrated with the myocardium. Cardiac stem cells and cardiac progenitor cells represent one of the most promising types of cellular therapy for children with cardiac failure.