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The bone marrow--cardiac axis of myocardial regeneration
Ronglih Liao1, Otmar Pfister, Mohit Jain
1Cardiac Muscle Research Laboratory, Cardiovascular Division, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA. rliao@rics.bwh.harvard.edu
Insights
Regenerative medicine offers hope for heart failure by using stem cells to repair damaged heart muscle. Research into bone marrow and cardiac stem cells shows promise for new heart disease treatments.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Medicine
- Regenerative Medicine
- Stem Cell Biology
Background:
- Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a major cause of death, characterized by the loss of functional cardiomyocytes.
- Existing therapies do not address the root cause of CHF: the progressive loss of heart muscle cells.
- Cell-based therapies hold significant potential for repairing or regenerating damaged myocardium.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the role of adult stem cells, specifically bone marrow-derived stem cells and cardiac stem/progenitor cells, in heart repair.
- To explore the potential of these stem cells in cardiomyogenesis (heart muscle cell formation) and myocardial regeneration.
- To provide an overview of ongoing clinical trials investigating cell-based therapies for heart disease.
Main Methods:
- Review of scientific literature focusing on adult stem cell identification and characterization.
- Analysis of studies investigating the use of bone marrow stem cells and cardiac stem/progenitor cells in animal models and human studies.
- Compilation of data from current clinical trials on cell-based cardiac repair.
Main Results:
- Identification of adult stem cells, including cardiac and bone marrow stem cells, capable of contributing to cardiomyogenesis.
- Encouraging reports from preclinical and early clinical studies demonstrating the potential of cell therapy in myocardial repair.
- Active clinical trials are exploring the safety and efficacy of various cell-based therapeutic approaches for heart conditions.
Conclusions:
- Bone marrow-derived stem cells and cardiac stem/progenitor cells are key players in cardiomyocyte homeostasis and myocardial regeneration.
- Cell-based therapy represents a promising frontier in cardiovascular regenerative medicine for treating heart failure.
- Further basic science and clinical research are essential to translate these findings into effective, widespread treatments for heart disease.
Abstract:
Congestive heart failure remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the developed world. Current therapies do not address the underlying pathophysiology of this disease, namely, the progressive loss of functional cardiomyocytes. The notion of repairing or regenerating lost myocardium via cell-based therapies remains highly appealing. The recent identification of adult stem cells, including both cardiac stem/progenitor cells and bone marrow stem cells, has triggered an explosive interest in using these cells for physiologically relevant cardiomyogenesis. Enthusiasm for cardiac regeneration via cell therapy has further been fueled by the many encouraging reports in both animals and human studies. Further intensive research in basic science and clinical arenas are needed to make this next great frontier in cardiovascular regenerative medicine a reality. In this review, we focus on the role of bone marrow-derived stem cells and cardiac stem/progenitor cells in cardiomyocyte homeostasis and myocardial repair and regeneration, as well as provide a brief overview of current clinical trials using cell-based therapeutic approaches in patients with heart disease.
