In mammals, including humans, the cells that contract the heart muscle and enable it to beat do not regenerate after injury. After a heart attack, there is a dramatic loss of these heart muscle cells and those that survive cannot effectively replicate. With fewer of these contractile cells, known as cardiomyocytes, the heart pumps less blood with each beat, leading to the increased mortality associated with heart disease.
Now, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have used mouse models to demonstrate a new approach to restart replication in existing cardiomyocytes: an injectable gel that slowly releases short gene sequences known as microRNAs into the heart muscle.
Though the reasons cardiomyocytes don’t regenerate aren’t fully understood, the researchers used microRNAs that target signalling pathways related to cell proliferation and were able to inhibit some of the inherent “stop” signals that keep cardiomyocytes from replicating. This resulted in cardiomyocytes reactivating their proliferative potential.
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