Cardiac Repair and Regeneration

The regenerative capacity of the heart varies drastically across the animal kingdom. Certain species, such as zebrafish and newts, display a remarkable innate ability for heart regeneration. In contrast, heart regeneration in adult mammals is limited. Heart regenerative potential also varies during organismal development. For example, while neonatal mice can regenerate their hearts, this is lost during the first week after birth. Understanding cardiac regenerative pathways will play a critical role in discovering therapeutic approaches to stimulate human cardiac regeneration. In this review, we explore the known strategies to stimulate intrinsic heart regeneration and highlight current cell replacement therapies.