Adult stem cells cardiac repair

However, new insights into the mechanisms of cardiac repair have provided evidence that the adult heart can at least partially repair injury and that vasculogenesis may not occur solely during embryonic development. These insights, in turn, have sparked strong interest in the field of stem cell therapy [2, 3]. Prompted by evidence that adult bone marrow harbors a reservoir of plastic cells [4], animal experiments have generated evidence... 

Further evidence for a dynamic cardiac renewal process in the adult heart comes from the recent identification of a novel population of early tissue-committed stem cells that may be part of a group of circulating progenitor cells involved in cardiac repair [40]. 

It is now suggested that the adult heart may not be a terminally differentiated organ because it contains stem cells supporting its regeneration. Adult cardiac stem cells are multipotent, giving rise to endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells and functional cardiomyocytes. The existence of these cells opens new opportunities for myocardial repair.259 See chapter 6. 

Transplantation of adult bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells has been proposed as a strategy for cardiac repair... 

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