RT Journal Article T1 Telomere Length Defines the Cardiomyocyte Differentiation Potency of Mouse Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells A1 Aguado Sánchez, Tania A1 Gutiérrez, Francisco A1 Aix, Esther A1 Schneider, Ralph A1 Giovinazzo, Giovanna A1 Blasco, María A1 Flores, Ignacio AB Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) can be differentiated in vitro and in vivo to all cardiovascular lineages and are therefore a promising cell source for cardiac regenerative therapy. However, iPSC lines do not all differentiate into cardiomyocytes (CMs) with the same efficiency. Here, we show that telomerase-competent iPSCs with relatively long telomeres and high expression of the shelterin-complex protein TRF1 (iPSChighT) differentiate sooner and more efficiently into CMs than those with relatively short telomeres and low TRF1 expression (iPSClowT). Ascorbic acid, an enhancer of cardiomyocyte differentiation, further increases the cardiomyocyte yield from iPSChighT but does not rescue the cardiomyogenic potential of iPSClowT. Interestingly, although iPSCslowT differentiate very poorly to the mesoderm and endoderm lineages, they differentiate very efficiently to the ectoderm lineage, indicating that cell fate can be determined by in vitro selection of iPSCs with different telomere content. Our findings highlight the importance of selecting iPSCs with ample telomere reserves in order to generate high numbers of CMs in a fast, reliable, and efficient way. PB Oxford University Press SN 1066-5099 YR 2016 FD 2016 LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/91532 UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/91532 LA eng NO Tania Aguado, Francisco J. Gutiérrez, Esther Aix, Ralph P. Schneider, Giovanna Giovinazzo, María A. Blasco, Ignacio Flores, Telomere Length Defines the Cardiomyocyte Differentiation Potency of Mouse Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells, Stem Cells, Volume 35, Issue 2, February 2017, Pages 362–373, https://doi.org/10.1002/stem.2497 NO Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (España) NO Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (España) NO European Commission NO Comunidad de Madrid NO Fundación Botín NO Fondo de Investigación AXA NO Red Temática de Investigación Cooperativa en Enfermedades Cardiovasculares (España) NO Ministerio de Educación (España) NO Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer DS Docta Complutense RD 7 jul 2025