Heart's Hidden Power to Heal Itself Reawakened by Device Support
Human hearts possess a dormant regenerative capacity that can be triggered back to life, new research shows. Scientists found that mechanical heart support devices can boost cardiomyocyte renewal more than sixfold—suggesting a pathway to develop therapies that unlock the organ's natural healing without relying on transplants or permanent devices.
Originaltitel: A Latent Cardiomyocyte Regeneration Potential in Human Heart Disease
<p>BACKGROUND:</p><p>Cardiomyocytes in the adult human heart show a regenerative capacity, with an annual renewal rate of ≈0.5%. Whether this regenerative capacity of human cardiomyocytes is employed in heart failure has been controversial.</p><p>METHODS:</p><p>We determined cardiomyocyte renewal in 52 patients with advanced heart failure, 28 of whom received left ventricular assist device support. We measured the concentration of nuclear bomb test–derived <sup>14</sup>C in cardiomyocyte genomic DNA and performed mathematical modeling to establish cardiomyocyte renewal in heart failure with and without LVAD unloading.</p><p>RESULTS:</p><p>We show that cardiomyocyte generation is minimal in end-stage heart failure patients at rates 18 to 50× lower compared with the healthy heart. However, patients receiving left ventricle support device therapy, who showed significant functional and structural cardiac improvement, had a >6-fold increase in cardiomyocyte renewal relative to the healthy heart.</p><p>CONCLUSIONS:</p><p>Our findings reveal a substantial cardiomyocyte regeneration potential in human heart disease, which could be exploited therapeutically.</p>