In
contrast to newt and zebrafish, adult mammalian hearts have a very limited
capacity to regenerate. Ischemia in the mammalian heart causes significant
tissue damage with the loss of many cardiac cells through apoptosis and
necrosis, only to be replaced with nonfunctional fibrotic tissue and
hypertrophy but not hyperplasia of the remaining cardiomyocytes. After an
ischemic episode, the heart is permanently scarred and functionally impaired,
leading to lifelong morbidity or ultimately death.
Cardiovascular disease
affects millions of people in the USA and is the leading cause of all mortality.
Determining the precise mechanisms and initiators for regeneration may lead to
possible therapeutic agents for human patients, decreasing mortality and
morbidity from ischemic heart diseases. Recently, neonatal mouse hearts were
shown to regenerate after ventricular resection in a similar fashion to adult
zebrafish. Furthermore, it was demonstrated they can also regenerate after
ischemia created by coronary artery ligation. Read more..............
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