Discovery Boosts Hope for Heart Repair

摘要

New cardiac progenitor cells found in the hearts of neonate humans, rats, and mice provide evidence of the heart's regenerative potential.The discovery was reported in the February 10 issue of Nature by a multi-institution group of US and German researchers (Laugwitz et al. Nature. 2005; 433:647-653). According to the report, the cells are precursors of cardiac muscle cells that can be multiplied into millions of cells in vitro. These cells also appear to form fully differentiated functioning cardiac muscle cells in the presence of other heart cells.Previous studies have identified cardiac stem cells and cardiac precursor cells in humans (Beltrami et al. Cell. 2003;114:763-776, Messina et al.Circ Res. 2004;95:911-921). Attempts to translate these findings into clinical trials that deliver stem cells from bone marrow to treat heart disease have had limited success so far and the ultimate therapeutic value remains unclear.