Heart cells that grow and grow

摘要

Adult mammalian hearts cannot regenerate after injury, but neonatal mouse hearts can regenerate by cardiomyocyte proliferation through to postnatal day 7, when the cells exit the cell cycle. Hesham Sadek and colleagues now provide insight into the mechanisms that underlie this transition. They show that the homeobox transcription factor Meisl regulates the cardiomyocyte cell cycle, and that deletion of the Meisl gene in cardiomyocytes extends the postnatal proliferative window beyond seven days.