Immortalized Mouse Embryonic Epicardial Cells (MEC1)

The Immortalized Mouse Embryonic Epicardial Cells (MEC1) are derived from ventricular tissue from E13.5 wild-type hearts from ICR/CD1 strain mice embryos. These cells are spontaneously immortalized and do not express any myocardial or endothelial cell lineages. MEC1 cells have the same morphology as early primary epicardial cells and express epicardium-specific markers such as epicardin(Tcf21), Tbx18 and keratin 18. MEC1 has been helpful in demonstrating the important role of IGF in supporting cardiomyocyte proliferation during the formation of the compact zone and contributing to the establishment of coronary circulation. In addition, the physiological features of MEC1 make it a useful tool for answering many questions regarding cardiac developmental biology.