Evidence that human cardiac myocytes divide after myocardial infarction
A. P. Beltrami, K. Urbanek, J. Kajstura, S. M. Yan, N. Finato, R. Bussani, B. Nadal-Ginard, F. Silvestri, A. Leri, C. A. Beltrami, P. Anversa

Remarkable examples of regeneration can be found throughout nature. Newts regrow whole limbs. A flatworm can form a complete flatworm from a small portion of itself...

Human embryonic stem cells can differentiate into myocytes with structural and functional properties of cardiomyocytes
I. Kehat, D. Kenyagin-Karsenti, M. Snir, H. Segev, M. Amit, A. Gepstein, E. Livne, O. Binah, J. Itskovitz-Eldor, L. Gepstein

Embryonic stem (ES) cells from mice have revolutionized biomedical science since their isolation in 1981...

Biological pacemaker created by gene transfer
J. Miake, E. Marban, H. B. Nuss

When gene therapy first entered medical scientific consciousness, clinical applications were focused on the cure of diseases resulting from defective or missing genes...

Heart regeneration in zebrafish
K. D. Poss, L. G. Wilson, M. T. Keating

After a myocardial infarction, human hearts respond to the injury by extensive scarring with minimal regenerative potential. Replacement of myocardium with scar tissue has consequences for ventricular remodeling, cardiac function, and arrhythmia potential...

Adult cardiac stem cells are multipotent and support myocardial regeneration
A. P. Beltrami, L. Barlucchi, D. Torella, M. Baker, F. Limana, S. Chimenti, H. Kasahara, M. Rota, E. Musso, K. Urbanek, et al

Earlier work by these authors dispelled the long held belief that the adult human heart is incapable of cell division...

Human mesenchymal stem cells as a gene delivery system to create cardiac pacemakers
I. Potapova, A. Plotnikov, Z. Lu, P. Danilo Jr, V. Valiunas, J. Qu, S. Doronin, J. Zuckerman, I. N. Shlapakova, J. Gao, et al

The electronic pacemaker is undoubtedly one of the major medical advances in history. Though highly successful, there is room for improvement, as electronic pacemakers have limited battery life, lack of autonomic response, and imply the presence of permanent hardware in the body...

Regenerating the heart
M. A. Laflamme, C. E. Murry

We have all been taught that the human heart is an end organ without any regenerative properties. Patients with failing hearts may receive a mechanical ventricular assist device or a heart transplant as treatment...

Dynamic imaging of allogeneic mesenchymal stem cells trafficking to myocardial infarction
D. L. Kraitchman, M. Tatsumi, W. D. Gilson, T. Ishimori, D. Kedziorek, P. Walczak, W. P. Segars, H. H. Chen, D. Fritzges I. Izbudak, et al

The human heart has limited regenerative capacity after a myocardial infarction (MI), a fact cardiologists are reminded of daily. Basic research has established the capability of stem cells to differentiate into cardiomyocytes...

Molecular ablation of ventricular tachycardia after myocardial infarction
T. Sasano, A. D. McDonald, K. Kikuchi, J. K. Donahue

Centricular tachycardia (VT) is unfortunately a common and often fatal complication of ischemic heart disease. Implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICD) have greatly improved survival..

Theoretical impact of the injection of material into the myocardium: a finite element model simulation
S. T. Wall, J. C. Walker, K. E. Healy, M. B. Ratcliffe, J. M. Guccione

Stem cell transplantation by direct injection into the myocardial infarction area has gained significant attention as a strategy to improve cardiac function and prevent clinical heart failure...