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Apical Resection Mouse Model to Study Early Mammalian Heart Regeneration
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Development, Proliferation, and Growth of the Mammalian Heart

Marie Günthel1, Phil Barnett1, Vincent M Christoffels1

  • 1Department of Medical Biology, Amsterdam Cardiovascular Sciences, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Molecular Therapy : the Journal of the American Society of Gene Therapy
|June 23, 2018
PubMed

Insights

The adult heart cannot regenerate effectively after injury. However, understanding embryonic heart development and pathways like Hippo signaling may unlock therapeutic strategies for heart regeneration by reinitiating cardiomyocyte proliferation.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular Biology
  • Developmental Biology
  • Regenerative Medicine

Background:

  • Embryonic heart growth relies on cardiomyocyte proliferation, which adult hearts lose.
  • Adult heart injury often results in heart failure due to limited regenerative capacity.
  • Recent discoveries highlight potential for adult cardiomyocyte proliferation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore mechanisms of embryonic heart development for regenerative insights.
  • To investigate therapeutic potential of developmental pathways for heart regeneration.
  • To understand conditions promoting adaptive heart growth and repair.

Main Methods:

  • Review of developmental biology and cardiac regeneration literature.
  • Analysis of cardiomyocyte proliferation mechanisms during embryogenesis.
  • Examination of signaling pathways, including Hippo signaling, in cardiac development and regeneration.

Main Results:

  • Embryonic hearts regenerate via cell addition and cardiomyocyte proliferation.
  • Adult hearts primarily grow by increasing cardiomyocyte size, not number.
  • Specific developmental pathways and a subset of adult cardiomyocytes show regenerative potential.

Conclusions:

  • Understanding embryonic heart development is crucial for adult heart regeneration.
  • Therapeutic strategies may involve reactivating cardiomyocyte proliferation pathways.
  • Targeting developmental mechanisms offers hope for treating heart failure after injury.

Keywords:
developmenthearthuman

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