Department of Pathology, Center for Cardiovascular Biology, Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98109, USA.
Nature. 2011 May 19;473(7347):326-35. doi: 10.1038/nature10147.
Heart failure plagues industrialized nations, killing more people than any other disease. It usually results from a deficiency of specialized cardiac muscle cells known as cardiomyocytes, and a robust therapy to regenerate lost myocardium could help millions of patients every year. Heart regeneration is well documented in amphibia and fish and in developing mammals. After birth, however, human heart regeneration becomes limited to very slow cardiomyocyte replacement. Several experimental strategies to remuscularize the injured heart using adult stem cells and pluripotent stem cells, cellular reprogramming and tissue engineering are in progress. Although many challenges remain, these interventions may eventually lead to better approaches to treat or prevent heart failure.
心力衰竭困扰着工业化国家，其致死人数超过其他任何疾病。它通常是由于一种称为心肌细胞的专门心肌细胞的缺乏引起的，而一种强大的再生疗法可以帮助每年数以百万计的患者。在两栖动物和鱼类以及发育中的哺乳动物中，心脏再生得到了很好的记录。然而，出生后，人类心脏再生仅限于非常缓慢的心肌细胞替代。目前正在使用成体干细胞和多能干细胞、细胞重编程和组织工程等几种实验策略来使受损的心脏重新肌肉化。尽管仍存在许多挑战，但这些干预措施最终可能会导致更好的治疗或预防心力衰竭的方法。
