A Latent Cardiomyocyte Regeneration Potential in Human Heart Disease

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

Abstract

BACKGROUND: 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. METHODS: 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 14C in cardiomyocyte genomic DNA and performed mathematical modeling to establish cardiomyocyte renewal in heart failure with and without LVAD unloading. RESULTS: 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. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings reveal a substantial cardiomyocyte regeneration potential in human heart disease, which could be exploited therapeutically.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)245-256
Number of pages12
JournalCirculation
Volume151
Issue number3
Early online date21 Nov 2024
Publication statusPublished - 21 Jan 2025
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

ORCID /0000-0003-0137-5106/work/175217732
ORCID /0000-0003-1065-4107/work/175219914

Keywords

Sustainable Development Goals

Keywords

  • heart failure, heart-assist device, myocytes, cardiac