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Updated: Jun 4, 2026

An Apical Resection Model in the Adult Xenopus tropicalis Heart
Published on: November 18, 2022
Cardiac muscle regeneration: lessons from development
Mark Mercola1, Pilar Ruiz-Lozano, Michael D Schneider
1Muscle Development and Regeneration Program, Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, USA. mmercola@burnham.org
Abstract:
The adult human heart is an ideal target for regenerative intervention since it does not functionally restore itself after injury yet has a modest regenerative capacity that could be enhanced by innovative therapies. Adult cardiac cells with regenerative potential share gene expression signatures with early fetal progenitors that give rise to multiple cardiac cell types, suggesting that the evolutionarily conserved regulatory networks that drive embryonic heart development might also control aspects of regeneration. Here we discuss commonalities of development and regeneration, and the application of the rich developmental biology heritage to achieve therapeutic regeneration of the human heart.
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