Induced expression of Fndc5 significantly increased cardiomyocyte differentiation rate of mouse embryonic stem cells

• Significant increase in Fndc5 RNA was observed when ESCs were differentiated to beating bodies.
• A stably inducible mouse embryonic stem cell line was forced expressing Fndc5 induction.
• Overexpression of Fndc5 during cardiac differentiation increased expression of cardiac markers.

Fibronectin type III domain-containing 5 protein (Fndc5) is an exercise hormone and its transcript profile in mouse showed high degree of expression in heart, skeletal muscle and brain. Our previous studies indicated a significant increase (approximately 10 fold) in mRNA level of Fndc5 when embryonic stem cells were differentiated into beating bodies. As a step closer to identify the involvement of Fndc5 in the process of cardiomyocyte differentiation, we generated a stably inducible transduced mouse embryonic stem cell (mESC) line that overexpressed Fndc5 following Doxycycline induction. Our results indicated that the overexpression of Fndc5 during spontaneous cardiac differentiation significantly increased not only at RNA levels for mesodermal markers but also at the transcriptional levels for cardiac progenitor and cardiac genes. These data suggest that Fndc5 may be involved in cardiomyocyte differentiation. Therefore, a new hope will be arisen for potential application of this myokine for regeneration of damaged cardiac tissues especially in cardiac failure.