Regeneration of Infarcted Myocardium with Islet 1+ Cells

Project Description Narrative:

Heart disease is the primary cause of adult deaths in the United States. According to the American Heart Association, approximately 500,000 new cases of heart disease are reported each yar, an incidence sustaining a census of 5 million patients among whom 250,000 deaths annually occur. In most cases, heart disease is caused by interruption of the heart’s blood supply, which causes cardiomyocyte death. Because cardiomyocytes cannot proliferate to restore damaged myocardium, cardiac injury is irreversible. Therefore, the myocardium is a primary candidate for cell replacement therapy.

The research team in this project will test the hypotheses that optimal cardiac regeneration and function of infarcted hearts will be attained via transplantation with lsl1-poitive cardiac progenitor cells.