Institute of Research for Food Safety & Health IRC-FSH, University Magna Graecia, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy.
Nutramed S.c.a.r.l., Complesso Ninì Barbieri, Roccelletta di Borgia, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy.
Nutrients. 2021 Jan 19;13(1):275. doi: 10.3390/nu13010275.
Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), which include congenital heart disease, rhythm disorders, subclinical atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, and many other cardiac disorders, cause about 30% of deaths globally; representing one of the main health problems worldwide. Among CVDs, ischemic heart diseases (IHDs) are one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality in the world. The onset of IHDs is essentially due to an unbalance between the metabolic demands of the myocardium and its supply of oxygen and nutrients, coupled with a low regenerative capacity of the heart, which leads to great cardiomyocyte (CM) loss; promoting heart failure (HF) and myocardial infarction (MI). To date, the first strategy recommended to avoid IHDs is prevention in order to reduce the underlying risk factors. In the management of IHDs, traditional therapeutic options are widely used to improve symptoms, attenuate adverse cardiac remodeling, and reduce early mortality rate. However, there are no available treatments that aim to improve cardiac performance by replacing the irreversible damaged cardiomyocytes (CMs). Currently, heart transplantation is the only treatment being carried out for irreversibly damaged CMs. Hence, the discovery of new therapeutic options seems to be necessary. Interestingly, recent experimental evidence suggests that regenerative stem cell medicine could be a useful therapeutic approach to counteract cardiac damage and promote tissue regeneration. To this end, researchers are tasked with answering one main question: how can myocardial regeneration be stimulated? In this regard, natural compounds from plant extracts seem to play a particularly promising role. The present review will summarize the recent advances in our knowledge of stem cell therapy in the management of CVDs; focusing on the main properties and potential mechanisms of natural compounds in stimulating and activating stem cells for myocardial regeneration.
心血管疾病（CVDs）包括先天性心脏病、节律障碍、亚临床动脉粥样硬化、冠心病和许多其他心脏疾病，导致全球约 30%的死亡；是全球主要的健康问题之一。在 CVDs 中，缺血性心脏病（IHDs）是世界上主要的发病率和死亡率原因之一。IHDs 的发作本质上是由于心肌的代谢需求与其氧气和营养供应之间的不平衡，加上心脏的再生能力低，导致大量心肌细胞（CM）丧失；促进心力衰竭（HF）和心肌梗死（MI）。迄今为止，避免 IHDs 的首要策略是预防，以降低潜在的风险因素。在 IHDs 的管理中，传统的治疗选择被广泛用于改善症状、减轻不良心脏重构和降低早期死亡率。然而，目前还没有旨在通过替代不可逆损伤的心肌细胞（CMs）来改善心脏功能的可用治疗方法。目前，心脏移植是唯一针对不可逆损伤的 CMs 进行的治疗方法。因此，似乎有必要发现新的治疗选择。有趣的是，最近的实验证据表明，再生干细胞医学可能是一种有用的治疗方法，可以对抗心脏损伤并促进组织再生。为此，研究人员的任务是回答一个主要问题：如何刺激心肌再生？在这方面，植物提取物中的天然化合物似乎发挥了特别有前途的作用。本综述将总结我们对干细胞治疗 CVDs 管理方面的最新认识进展；重点介绍天然化合物在刺激和激活干细胞以促进心肌再生方面的主要特性和潜在机制。
