Myocardial regeneration

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Abstract
The mechanism of pathological myocardial growth involves myocyte hypertrophy and proliferation. However, the origin of replicating myocytes in the human heart remains to be identified. The major challenging question is whether the myocardium possesses a subpopulation of myocytes that are not terminally differentiated or whether primitive cells reside in the heart and undergo lineage commitment generating amplifying cells. The possibility is advanced that cells expressing surface antigens commonly found in stem cells are stored in the adult heart and, following stimulation, can give rise to myocytes and vascular structures. Thus, the damaged heart has the potential to repair itself.

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