- Skelton, Rhys JP;
- Brady, Bevin;
- Khoja, Suhail;
- Sahoo, Debashis;
- Engel, James;
- Arasaratnam, Deevina;
- Saleh, Kholoud K;
- Abilez, Oscar J;
- Zhao, Peng;
- Stanley, Edouard G;
- Elefanty, Andrew G;
- Kwon, Murray;
- Elliott, David A;
- Ardehali, Reza
The generation of tissue-specific cell types from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) is critical for the development of future stem cell-based regenerative therapies. Here, we identify CD13 and ROR2 as cell-surface markers capable of selecting early cardiac mesoderm emerging during hESC differentiation. We demonstrate that the CD13+/ROR2+ population encompasses pre-cardiac mesoderm, which efficiently differentiates to all major cardiovascular lineages. We determined the engraftment potential of CD13+/ROR2+ in small (murine) and large (porcine) animal models, and demonstrated that CD13+/ROR2+ progenitors have the capacity to differentiate toward cardiomyocytes, fibroblasts, smooth muscle, and endothelial cells in vivo. Collectively, our data show that CD13 and ROR2 identify a cardiac lineage precursor pool that is capable of successful engraftment into the porcine heart. These markers represent valuable tools for further dissection of early human cardiac differentiation, and will enable a detailed assessment of human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiac lineage cells for potential clinical applications.