Reprogramming for cardiac regeneration-strategies for innovation

Abstract

It is well-known that the human myocardium has a low capacity for self-regeneration. This fact is especially important after acute myocardial infarction with subsequent heart failure and adverse tissue remodeling. New potential strategies have recently emerged for treating heart diseases, such as the possibility of generating large quantities of cardiomyocytes through genetic iPSC reprogramming, transdifferentiation for in vitro disease modeling, in vivo therapies or telomerase gene reactivation. Approaches based on these techniques may represent the new horizon in cardiology with an appropriate 180-degree turn perspective.